Police generator failure explained

OXFORD COUNTY —When a backup generator failed to maintain power to an emergency service communications tower on Streaked Mountain during a regional blackout, law enforcement officials called the failure a mystery.

An internal investigation by the Oxford County Regional Communications Center has turned up a mundane answer.

"Generator technicians were up there on Wednesday, and they figured out that it was the battery," said Director of Communications James Miclon.

The battery, which is used to start the kerosene-powered generator, was replaced within an hour of discovering the problem.

Two other generators on Streaked Mountain, which also failed to engage during the power outage, are also believed to have experienced battery failures, said Miclon.

Miclon said that the generator was tested in December, and worked fine at the time.

"Evidently the cold weather really took a toll on a battery that was probably needing replacement [in December]," said Miclon. He noted that the battery was approximately five years old.

Power was lost to much of Paris on January 15 after icy conditions caused a pick-up truck to crash into a utility pole on Main Street.

When the generator failed to engage, emergency communications were immediately rerouted to a tower on Spruce Mountain in Woodstock.