East Falls family dealt with "live wires" for days with no response after severe storms
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Monday's storms brought damage across the Philadelphia region from downed trees to power outages. Amid the storm damage, one family had to deal with "live wires" that were going for days, without a response for help.
One woman from East Falls brought her complaints to CBS News Philadelphia, where we pushed for answers.
RELATED: "It's pretty devastating": Damage widespread across Delco after severe storms
The storms brought down a tree and electrical wires across the street from Karen Keough's East Falls home on Merrit Road. She said those wires remained energized for days, entangled in tree branches and draped across her son's car.
Her husband even had to make a "live wire" sign to warn people.
"The tree was on top of my son's car, but they were still live, so it looked like firecrackers going on inside," Keough said.
She shared photos that show the downed light poles still lit on the ground. She said she called PECO and the city numerous times to report the incident.
"My husband and neighbors put a big sign up, and the fire department came and put caution tape, but it didn't stop people from going right through," Keough said.
RELATED: Tornado touched down in Allentown, National Weather Service says
Keough also showed CBS News Philadelphia emails dating back three years with Thomas Jefferson University, the owner of the property across the street from her home.
She's been concerned about trees falling and erosion. A video shows a waterfall storming down the retention wall in 2019.
"I've been talking for years that this was going to happen, this land is not maintained," Keough said.
In her most recent exchange with the university, Karen said a university assistant director replied that "They are sorry for my frustration with Mother Nature and that this is an act of God. And PECO is responsible to remove these trees."
CBS Philadelphia took the family's concerns to both the university and PECO.
Greg Smore, with PECO, told CBS News Philadelphia that the wires down call here was processed through the company's triage system, adding people should never go near electrical lines.
"Out of an abundance of caution. We always wanna stress that any type of customers or members of the public should assume that those lines are energized or that equipment is energized," Keough said.
For Keough, she wants the university to address its property.
"The whole entire hill is eroding, and the trees are leaning and it's just very concerning because it's coming right at my house," Keough said.
Jefferson provided CBS Philadelphia with a statement that read:
"Jefferson has continually worked to address concerns by our neighbors in a timely manner. We understand Monday's storm caused widespread damage and resulted in slower than usual response times. While we regret the unavoidable delays caused by the storm, we acknowledge the hard work of PECO personnel on these matters and are appreciative of them for helping ensure the safety of our facilities crews as they work to continue removing the debris. We are confident this clean-up effort will be completed in the next few days. Additionally, we will be assessing the tree line for any additional damage that may require remediation."
Arborists have been out over the years to evaluate the health of these trees
