Finley Gray Direct

Hello, could you please introduce yourself?

Yes, my name is Finley. Finley Gray. 

WHat do you do for a living?

Well, for my day job, I work as a Field Service Technician for Midlands Gas and Electric. But if you wanna know my true passion, I’m an entertainer. I record myself doing all sorts of wild things: extreme spots, and lots of mountain climbing! If your honor would be so curious as to search me up, my Youtube channel is called “Cliff Hangers!” 

Has your youtube career been successful?

Oh! uhm…it's still a work in progress; but that’s why I took up powerline maintenance. Gotta keep the lights on somehow. 

I’d like to focus on your work in powerline maintenance instead of your youtube career, what sort of maintenance do you do for the job?

Being a Field Service Tech, it's my job to inspect and maintain the electrical poles around the region. It’s not as fun as mountain climbing, or as fulfilling as making videos, but it pays the bills.

Did you have to get any training to work as a field service technician?

Oh yeah there was a ton to get done. First was MGE’s internal training, which ran me through their safety protocols. THEN I had to get two other certifications before I was even allowed on the field. But not to worry, I’m a boss. I got it all done in two weeks then hit the ground running. 

WHat were those two certifications, Ms Gray?

The first was my Utility Safety Compliance Certification. Afterwards I got my Powerline Maintenance License. 

I’d like to move on ms gray, were you working as a field tech on the night of New Years last year?

Yeah. I’m all about getting the green, and they pay you–not standard,  not even double, but Triple Overtime! There's no way I was gonna pass that up! I was actually the only On-Call tech that night. 

What does that mean?

When you’re “on-call” it basically means you're available to be dispatched in case there are issues with any of the poles. I was that available person on New Years. 

Is it important to have a field tech on call on nights like new years eve?

Well yes. Especially with holidays like New Years; everyone could be out drinking and partying. There's a real risk of drunk driving accidents, firework explosions, and of course, power outages. 

Were there any other risks relevant to that night in particular?

I mean, yeah. First of all, it was New Years, peeeeople get wild. But that night the storm was just wicked! y’know it was windy enough that I considered making a hang glider out of what was in my truck for a video, but I just didn't have enough rope.

Are you familiar with the weather reports from that night?

Yes I am. I keep my phone set so I get alerts for the weather conditions. In storms as bad at that one, it just ruins my night when my socks get all wet! 

Would you recognize one of those weather reports if you saw it here in court?

Sure thing.

What did the forecast say about the storms late that night?

The red box up top with the warning symbol says “Rain and Severe high wind warning.” (nods) seems legit 

Does it say how fast the winds were going?

It says here wind gusts were coming in at about 60ish miles an hour allll  night. Sheesh, that's faster than my janky truck at full speed when I’m–definately not driving through a neighborhood.

Does it list any of the risks that come with high winds?

Hmmmmm, yep! It says here falling trees and downed power lines. That about sums up the whole reason I was out there to begin with. 

Were there any issues you were sent to check out that night?

There were a couple of power outages here and there, nothing too taxing or dangerous. I was notified about the pole on dip road, but headquarters never sent me out until early the morning of January 1. 

What do you mean you had some notifications?

While I am on call, I get notifications. I can see the kind of notification being sent, the general area of the pole, and whether or not I’m being sent out. The first two times, headquarters didn't send me out.

What are some reasons that a Field Tech might not be sent out to check a potential problem?

I was the only one on call that night, meaning that if there was some big issue, I needed to be ready to go check it out. If I was sent to every possible disturbance, it could leave me unavailable when people were actually losing power.

You mentioned being sent out late that morning. When you got there, what did you find?

The fire was CRAAAZYY. I mean it wasn’t just the pole, most of the valley was on fire when I got there, so I couldn't really do much when I got there.