Squirrel Zapped by Power Line Keeps EMHS in Dark

was without power for almost three hours Friday after an errant squirrel allegedly caused an issue in an electrical pole along Carman Avenue Friday morning.

A fuse was knocked out at around 10:30 a.m., causing a transformer in the school's basement to smoke, a custodian stated.

"We shut the whole building down," he added. "The fire department came, but it was no big deal."

Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) received the call at 10:45 a.m., according to spokesperson Mark Gross.

"Upon inspection, it was a squirrel that made contact with the primary wire, and that caused the blown fuse," he added.

LIPA replaced the blown fuse and power was restored to the building by 1:30 p.m. Students were granted an early dismissal at approximately 1 p.m.

The custodian said that the building runs on three fuses, and when one of them is knocked out, the building cannot function on just two, which led to the transformer smoking.

"Kids were freaking out at first," he said. "But the school was taking every precaution."

Lauren Nissenbaum, a junior at East Meadow High School, was going about her day as normal when the lights began to flicker.

"I was outside with my friends for a second," Nissenbaum said. "One of the lights dimmed, and then all of the lights shut off. We were freaking out."

According to Nissenbaum, a teacher came and told the students to remain in the classroom, which by then was cold and dark. Rumors spread that there was an electrical fire in the basement.

"We were in the dark with 70 kids," Nissenbaum said. "The announcements weren't working and neither were the phones."

Nissenbaum, who was in chorus, spent the next two hours in the classroom before a student came and said they were allowing people to go to their lockers.

LIPA officials reported that this was an isolated incident.

"No other businesses or residents were affected," Gross added.

Attempts to contact Superintendent Louis DeAngelo and East Meadow Fire Chief Thomas Tergesen were unsuccessful.

Jaime Sumersille contributed to this article.