-
HUDSON COUNTY NOW
- County news and information:
-
Browse by week posted:
-
HUDSON CO. VIDEOS
- HOBOKEN NOW
- Insider's guide to Hoboken news, real estate and nightlife
-
"Are there any Obama signs in here? Are you sure there aren't any Obama signs hidden in here?"• Hoboken Italian Festival kicks off tonight 6:46 p.m. ET
• On Tap Tonight: Thursday, Sept. 4 4:51 p.m. ET
- TOP HEADLINES
- From The Jersey Journal
-
- HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
- Extra coverage of Hudson County high school sports from the Jersey Journal.
-
• Kards concentrating on offense 11:53 p.m. ET
• Blue Tide armed and ready for '08 season 10:24 p.m. ET
• Cerreta named coach at HFA 12:34 a.m. ET
- NEWS PHOTOS
-
- REAL ESTATE LISTINGS
Flaming squirrel ignites car in Bayonne
by N. Clark Judd
Thursday October 18, 2007, 7:29 PM
It's Rocky the Frying Squirrel!
A kamikaze squirrel fell from the sky and detonated a Bayonne woman's car yesterday, police said today.
Lindsey Millar, 23, and her brother, Tony, 22, were both home Wednesday at about 12:45 p.m. when Lindsey's car suddenly started burning outside their 42nd Street home.
Tony Millar said firefighters told them it was the work of a buck-toothed saboteur that had been gnawing on overhead power lines connected to a transformer directly above the 2006 Toyota Camry.
"The squirrel chewed through the wire, was set on fire, fell down directly to where the car was," Tony Millar said. "The squirrel, on fire, slid into the engine compartment and blew up the car.
"They're always coming around here, chewing through the garbage," he added.
Tony Millar says his sister was fully insured.
"It's something to laugh about once she has a new car," he said. "It's not funny yet."
Police said there were no injuries -- except for the squirrel, that is, which is dead.
The Millars' home is decorated for Halloween, complete with a tiny plastic tombstone on their front lawn. Tony Millar said the family will consider dedicating the tombstone to the squirrel, who was not named.
Don't smile yet! PSE&G will contribute NOTHING to Lindsey's misfortune! They refuse to make any adjustments to the wires or transformers! How do I know?......It's happened to me, TWICE!!! PSE&G denies ALL responsibility.
And what would you have them do, Parousia? Completely re-vamp the entire power grid system? You ready for your power bill to TRIPLE to pay for that? Where does it say that power to your home is guaranteed, anyway?
Utility companies can only do so much within the confines of regulations and laws mandated by the STATE. You want the utilities to be more responsive to your whims, talk to the state.
Of course, to guarantee you always have power, you can always purchase a generator. Oh wait, you'll have to hope to remember to buy the fuel to run the generator or you'll lose power then too! hmmmmmm, looks like you're in the middle of a quandry there.
As long as PSE&G can afford to keep sending out trucks and servicemen to attend to these downed-lines, the situation will remain status-quo. It would probably be in their best interests (long-term) however, to research a more rodent-proof solution.
PSE&G is not liable for paying any of Lindsey's claim (if that's what Parousia6 was hinting at), Lindsey will have to file a claim with her insurance company for that...
It is understandable that PSE&G denies responsibility for the squirrels chewing through the lines. It's not as if they purposely designed the lines out of squirrel-food. Just an unfortunate circumstance. Parousia6, sorry it has happened to you repeatedly.
In the meantime, have you considered a bird-feeder? Give the squirrels something else to chew on besides lethal power equipment. Yes, bird/squirrel feeders cost money, but weigh that against your aggravation, loss of power, and potentially losing your possessions to a flaming rodent.
Squirrels are so dumb. What the hell was it doing in Bayonne anyway? Gosh!
He was promised 72 fresh acorns in squirelhalla to conflagrate the infidels!
He was promised 72 fresh acorns in squirelhalla to conflagrate the infidels!
You are all idiots. Don't you see what our true intentions are? We are not stupid little creatures but more highly evolved than you. We shall take down your power infrastructure and then move on to world domination. VIVA LA SQUIRRELS!!!!!!
PSE&G always blames the squirrels for EVERYthing! How convenient.
I say, "SQUIRREL POWER!!"
Chewed through a POWER WIRE? What guage might that have been? Braided or unbraded, shielded or not? Through insulation I might buy, but the cable itself? Nah!
I don't understand how this poor, dead, burning squirrel slid into the engine. Was the hood open?? Can anyone explain this to me? R.I.P, little buddy.
Don't smile yet! PSE&G will contribute NOTHING to Lindsey's misfortune! They refuse to make any adjustments to the wires or transformers! How do I know?......It's happened to me, TWICE!!! PSE&G denies ALL responsibility
Wait...you've had a flaming squirrel blow up your care twice?
You need call the Guiness people and probably Ripley's as well. And with your ability to hit long odds like that, you need to hit AC and play roulette.
MiniPntr2 you are so out of it. We had a similar problem and the power company put sheaths on the lines that ran throught the trees. No great expense. In fact, it was determined that it was cheaper than repairing the lines that had been chewed through.
This is sad. Terribly sad. I don't know if this is a true story ~ I hope to god it's not for the sake of Millar siblings.
I'll tell you why the insurance company will pay for this.
First off, high voltage lines are uninsulated. Secondly, in order to have electricity pass through your body, there needs to be a voltage difference, aka a 'ground'. The ground wire is strung parallel to the hot wire on power lines. The only danger comes when you bridge the connection between the low voltage ground the high voltage hot wires. This is why birds stand on power lines all day long. (NOT because they have 'insulated feet', this is a popular myth).
The only place where a squirrel could get electrocuted would be at the transformer where they wires come back together.
The last little bit of glory comes from the fact that the car was apparently flammable. Next time you go out to your car, try and find a spot on your hood for a flaming squirrel to fall through into your engine bay. Rain doesn't even get in there. I'd like to see anyone light the exterior of any car on fire. I bet you couldn't even do it with a blow torch.
So in conclusion, if the Millar siblings are pushing this, they're going to get tagged with insurance fraud. Especially if the care caught on fire, because that simply doesn't happen.
"It's something to laugh about once she has a new car," he said. "It's not funny yet."
What that report didn't tell you is how that house was protecting chipmunks. That was merely the warning shot.
I see where a lot of people around the country are having trouble with squrrels,rats, mice, raccoons, chewing on car wireing, etc...
Go to w w w dot Rataway dot com
Rataway will stop rats,squirrels,mice,dogs,
cats,raccoons,puppy's, etc... from chewing.
Rataway is safe around pets,children, and service
personal
- COMMENTS
- Hot talk in the blog
-
• NJDominican -- Personally, I am offended that... 10:15 p.m. ET
• uzername -- So much for a normal day at wo... 7:59 p.m. ET
• Doubleok -- patmac, is sounds like you're ... 6:20 p.m. ET
• donuts4u -- I WAS THERE NYG08 ! I WAS ON T... 6:14 p.m. ET
• NYG08Champs -- Speedy response? ONLOOKERS gr... 5:59 p.m. ET
• donuts4u -- My prayers go out to the famil... 5:30 p.m. ET
- COLUMNISTS
- LOCAL TALK
- Hot topics in Hudson County forums
-
