Valentine’s Day weekend 2020 was memorable for many Hinds County, Mississippi, residents, but not in a romantic sort of way. Copious amounts of rainfall throughout February eventually caused the Pearl River to overflow its banks on the 15th, unleashing millions of gallons of dangerous floodwaters into historic downtown Jackson. To make matters worse, water had to be released from the Ross Barnett Reservoir. Many of the city’s residents were forced to evacuate over the weekend, leaving their homes and businesses behind.
Floodwaters Threatened the Electrical Grid
As the disaster unfolded the substation control house, or “doghouse”, for one of the area’s main electricity suppliers was threatened by rising floodwaters. A control house takes in bulk electricity and then redistributes it along the electrical grid to various power substations. In other words, if the control house goes down, you’ve got some major blackout problems that might take days, if not weeks, to repair. Fortunately, Specialty Fuel Services (SFS) was able to lend a helping hand thanks to our high-water trucks.
What is a High-Water Truck?
A high-water truck is a specialized vehicle with a raised chassis, taller wheels, loftier air intake and waterproof ignition. High-water vehicles are typically used during resupply and rescue operations by national guardsmen or first responders in flooded areas because they can pass through floodwaters that are too deep for regular vehicles.
SFS has several high-water trucks fitted with fuel transfer pumps and dual fuel storage tanks that are equipped to transport gasoline and diesel fuel. One fuel tank holds 1,000 gallons and the other 250 gallons, and both tanks can hold either gasoline or diesel fuel depending upon our client’s needs.
How We Helped Jackson Stay Lit
As the power company’s control house began to be cut off by rising floodwaters, a Tiger Dam ™ pop-up moat was placed around the building’s perimeter. Inside this temporary barrier were several water pumps (diesel and gasoline powered) with emergency fuel storage tanks. At some point during the flooding no regular fuel trucks or tankers could get through the rising waters to resupply the generators.
Once the situation started to get hopeless, SFS dispatchers received a phone call and our emergency response team promptly went to work. Our high-water trucks were loaded up with gasoline and diesel, and then dispatched to the control house before the much-needed power in parts of Jackson and the surrounding communities had to be turned off.
Within a few hours, our high-water trucks had successfully reached their destination and replenished the nearly dry water pump fuel tanks. That allowed the pumps to keep the Tiger Dam’s™ interior and control house structure from getting breached. Thanks to SFS’ team and the brave utility company employees manning the pumps, the first responders and residents remaining inside Jackson had enough electricity to safely “weather the storm” .
Lessons Learned from the Jackson Flood
Whether you’re a utility or power company, government agency, healthcare facility or other entity, you need to have a business continuity plan in place before a manmade or natural disaster strikes. Included within that disaster preparedness plan should be contingencies for emergency fuel deliveries that will keep your operations running seamlessly even if the power grid goes down for days, or even weeks.
As was learned in Jackson, it sometimes boils down to having a mission critical emergency fuel delivery service with the right resources, like high-water trucks, versus one that delivers the highest volume of fuel. The ideal strategy would be contracting beforehand with an emergency fuel service that can accomplish both!
When Disasters Strike, SFS Stands Ready
Since 2006, Specialty Fuel Services has been answering the call of clients from all walks of life with our reliable emergency fuel supply, delivery, transfer and on-site fuel storage solutions. We’ve helped numerous clients weather the storm through many natural disasters, or prepare for the next one, with our disaster recovery planning and advisement services. If we can help your business, agency or organization get ready, call SFS today at: 1(866) 445-5508 or email us now at: [email protected]!