Broken utility pole, hanging wires worry Detroit residents

DETROIT (WJBK) - A utility pole on the verge of collapse -- neighbors scared a gust of wind could topple it over at any time.

They fear the pole could hurt someone and start a fire, but say they've called the city and DTE with no luck.

"If we get another wind like we did it's coming down," said Alicia Brown.

She's referring to another wind storm like the one we had in early March, where Alicia lost power for about a week and did some pretty big damage to the pole in her backyard.

"I'm afraid. Look at those wires right there that hanging there on that fence. It's a good thing that they're not hooked up," she said.

The utility pole next door to her property on Myers and 8 Mile is cracked.

"I might be electrocuted," Brown said.

Besides the cracked pole, which is being held up by a tree branch, the pole leads to a transformer in her neighbors' yard. 

Alicia says she's called DTE, who did come out about two weeks ago but:

"They tell me I need to be at home. But I tell them I don't have to be at home. You can come through the gate," she said.

So let's talk to a radiator man who's been doing business in Detroit for 37 years. 

"We were affected like everybody else. People lost power for a week, but it's up to DTE. It's their pole and they're the ones with all the money, not us," Phil Mooradian said.

DTE said that that they are still feeling the effects and are still making repairs due to the March 8 storm. 

They took care of the short-term problems by getting the power back on to 800,000 customers, and now they are working on the long-term problems. 

DTE is aware of these poles and says they have taken measures to make sure they are secure. 

"The lady's called 10 times and they're not coming out to fix it," Alicia said.

In what looks like a new pole, DTE tells me that this could be Alicia's replacement pole.