Homes must be safe to restore power

OLD LYME, Conn. (WTNH) -- It's easy to see why homes along Hawk's Nest Beach in Old Lyme are among the more than two hundred still without power. Electricity has been restored to the area but the town pulled the meters to make sure the homes are safe before they hook back up to the system.

Nancy Pinney lives right on the water. She also lost her oil tank so her landlord is converting to electric heat.

"So once they get the heat in we're told that they'll have the inspection and then CL&P will hook us back up so hopefully next week," Pinney said.

Many of these homes had water flood up to the first floor and into the basement if they had one, so electrical sockets and appliances were soaked.

"If we just connect them you could have fires, people get electrocuted, appliances could be destroyed," Ron Rose, an Old Lyme Building Official, said.

Once folks get there electricity turned back on and things like their furnaces fixed, the town is also supplying water testing kits. Building officials want to make sure once people are in these houses that their drinking water is safe.

And their gas service. The town wants the okay from a gas installer as well. Erring on the side of safety may keep these folks in the dark and cold a little longer. Perry Garvin's family owns fifty of these waterfront homes.

"Oh I think it's a great thing because it protects the people in the house and the structure," Perry Garvin of Old Lyme said. "It's a very minimal charge to have an electrician come in and say you're safe to go."

The alternative could be more damaging and dangerous.