Majority of Attleboro Power Outages Located in Briggs Corner Area

Detective Sgt. Arthur Brillon gave an update on the post-Hurricane Sandy situation in Attleboro early this afternoon at the DoubleACS studio. He said 856 National Grid customers are without power as of 1 p.m., most of them in the Briggs Corner area of the city. The outages are due to "damage done to feeder lines on the Union Loop which runs through 10 municipalities."

There is no estimated time for when power will be restored. Laurie Acone from National Grid is working with the city at its Emergency Operations Center. Brillon said, "Overall, Mayor Dumas has been pleased with the responsiveness of National Grid."

Brillon said the EOC responded to approximately 86 calls for direct service Monday. The center received 250 to 300 calls Monday and at least 50 today. The Fire Department responded to 21 calls for fire or medical services.

Among the incidents needing response were numerous fallen trees that were "a danger not only to residents, but to emergency services personnel." Also, there was a nighttime fire at Russell Morin Fine Cateringcould possibly have been a result of the storm" and is under investigation.

"Although this storm was not as severe, in my opinion, as Hurricane Irene, I think it's important to note it was a great learning experience," Brillon said. "Each time we operate the EOC, we learn things that we're going to use next time. It was a great exercise and effort."

A shelter was opened at Attleboro High School Monday evening. It was closed today at 6 a.m. There was not a large turnout at the shelter, Brillon said. He added, "However, it's important to note it was available should residents, and not only residents of Attleboro, need it."

As of 12 p.m., National Grid has 16 line crews and five tree crews assigned to the area that includes Attleboro, Seekonk, Norton and Rehoboth. More than 3,000 people are without power in Seekonk.

The EOC is still open, although with a smaller staff. If you need to contact the center about a storm-related situation, call 508-223-2275. If it is an emergency, call 911.