The Cookeville Electric Department sent crews and equipment to Gallatin this week to help with damage caused by the tornado.
Cookeville Electric Director Carl Haney said the department received a call late Saturday night and sent a crew of six workers early Sunday. Haney said the crew brought two dirt-digging trucks and two bucket trucks to reset telephone poles and help restore electricity.
“We all need help at times, and other systems have come and helped Cookeville when we needed it and we greatly appreciate that, and we want to return the favor and help them out and help them get their customers back on as soon as possible as well,” Haney said.
Haney said Gallatin had a lot of damage with broken poles and wires down, leaving a large chunk of the region without power. He said the work his crews did was mostly related to getting power restored as quickly as possible. Haney said it is important that Tennesseans can depend on one another in emergencies.
“Typically just like this, from Clarksville all the way to Gallatin, NES, all of them were hit,” Haney said. “You really need those resources to be able to help others from other parts of the state. Just your neighbors are typically going through the same things you are, so it just helps that the entire state is willing to help.”
Haney said the crew members participated in the relief effort on a volunteer basis. He said it speaks volumes about the department that people would be willing to spend the early part of their week offering aid to another city.
“We appreciate all of our guys, our crews and ladies being willing to do that in a time of somebody else’s need,” Haney said. “The same as they’ve answered that call for us in the past, it says a lot about their willingness to volunteer and to help others.”
All power was returned to Gallatin Electric Department’s customers that could be energized by Tuesday morning.
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