Generator Madness

I didn't know anything about generators. I knew they run on gas. I knew they make electricity. I knew they can make life easier.
That's about it. I'd be scared to try to hook up one.
But generators quickly become a vital organ in an electricity-castrating disaster, although they are dangerous on myriad fronts.
The storm's greatest tragedy in Southeast Texas was generator-related. A Beaumont family moved an outside generator into their apartment, to keep thieves from stealing it. Two adults and four children subsequently died of carbon monoxide poisoning. As of this writing, one adult remained hospitalized in critical condition. There have been other poisonings since then, none fatal so far.
Local emergency officials groused about FEMA not releasing 50 generators parked out at Ford Park just west of Beaumont. A highly agitated County Judge Carl Griffith told me during an interview that he called FEMA and gave the federal agency three hours to start freeing up generators, or he was going to send police to seize them.
Generators are needed to power hospitals, police and fire stations, water and sewage treatment plants, etc. Those places get top priority.
At the criticism's peak, I sat down with a FEMA official who explained in detail how the federal process works. He called it "controlled pandemonium" but assured that the federal response was proceeding exactly as planned.
FEMA only jumps in when local and state resources are exhausted. It's a last resort.
Deploying generators, the FEMA official said, is not as easy as it looks.
Once all the generators brought in by state and local resources are in use, FEMA steps in to pick up slack. I've heard crazy stories about the generator rodeo out there this past week, and that doesn't include all the generators bought at home-improvement outlets. Cheap generators cost hundreds; the big ones cost thousands.
A FEMA generator won't be deployed without an assessment.
Once FEMA has a list of generator needs, an assessment then prioritizes the needs. After that, there is an assessment of generator compatibility. I'm certain there will be a FEMA assessment of assessments down the line.
The Beaumont Enterprise learned the hard way about generator importance. Someone sent a massive generator to power our building. However, it was suited to power an entire massive Houston skyscraper, not a four-story building such as the Enterprise. Had that generator been fired up here, it could have fried everything in the building that was plugged into an electrical outlet, including the presses. That generator went to the Houston Chronicle before anyone knew exactly where Rita would hit.
Before the storm, the company had reserved a generator at a local provider. The provider had evacuated but given us permission to cut a lock and get the machine. The police were notified, but one officer didn't get the message and accosted an Enterprise employee during the alleged generator looting. It took calls to the publisher to keep the employee from a ride down to the pokey.
Power here was lost about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. A sweltering, primitive existence ensued at the Beaumont Enterprise until about midday Monday, when we finally got the proper generator and power to all floors and even air conditioning to the executive offices.
It was then that I moved my bedding from under the desk in the dank mezzanine to a cozy closet in the exeuctive offices. The closet has its own AC vent and a little shelf where I put my toiletries. I'm still sleeping there, but they tour up the carpet today.
Our generator became a significant morale booster, moving us away from the stone-age low points of Saturday, Sunday and part of Monday. About the same time, we got spotty water service, thanks to generators at treatment plants, and could flush some cares away.
Generators kick ass.