Garfield man dies after his oxygen runs out during power outage
Tom Raith was doing well when his daughter saw him on Sunday, talking about current events and history books. But when she checked on the 93-year-old Korean War veteran in his Garfield home the next day, he was cold to the touch.
Amid two massive storms and a 21-hour power outage, Mr. Raith ran out of the oxygen he needed and died slouched over in his chair, his daughter Janet Zreliak said.
“He had his portable oxygen tank at his feet, and it was in his nose, and I just screamed, and I grabbed him, and he was ice cold at that point,” Ms. Zreliak, 68, of Crafton, said Wednesday. “So I have no idea what time he passed away.”
Mr. Raith was one of more than 21,000 of people in the region who lost power during massive storms
earlier this week that also caused mudslides, downed trees and power lines and flooded streets. Duquesne Light Company said there were still 400 customers on Wednesday without power.
Duquesne Light, which provided power to Mr. Raith’s residence, said he was among 500 customers who lost power after a fallen tree damaged a circuit. In total, 300 line workers and field crews have been working to fix problems caused by the storms.
“During the height of the storm Sunday evening, we experienced outages at a local hospital, a nursing home and assisted living facility, a senior high-rise, a television station and another utility,” Hollie Geitner, spokesperson for DLC, wrote in a statement responding to questions about Mr. Raith’s situation. “Like all electric utilities, our restoration process includes prioritizing outages so we can focus on highpriority facilities like those above, and outages that will restore power to the most people at one time.”
“We were not aware of Mr. Raith’s condition,” Ms. Geitner wrote. “We encourage customers to share this information with us and their local fire department so we can assist accordingly during their time of need.”
A resident of Garfield for more than 60 years, Mr. Raith had three daughters he raised in the neighborhood, taking them to circuses, parades and showing them how to play whiffle ball.
Ms. Zreliak would call him every day and sometimes visit to help with chores around the house. When she left Sunday evening, the storm hadn’t even hit yet.
After her calls to her father on Monday went unanswered, she called a neighbor to ask if the power had been out. He said it went out the evening before and wasn’t back on until that afternoon.
“As soon as I heard that, my heart sank, and I thought, ‘Oh my God,’ ” she said.
Over the 21 hours he was without power, Mr. Raith not only lost access to his main oxygen supply but also went through a backup on a battery-powered pack. That portable device would have lasted him around two hours, Ms. Zreliak said, so it’s hard to say when exactly he put it on.
She said she wants some sort of compensation from Duquesne Light, like payment for funeral expenses, because it took such a long time for the power to come back on. “In a city like Pittsburgh, Duquesne Light should be immediately on that kind of stuff,” she said.
Although he was elderly and feeble, Mr. Raith still lived independently and took care of himself, Ms. Zreliak said, adding that he probably thought the electricity was going to come back on any minute. “It just breaks our hearts to think that [ he thought,] ‘Well, I won’t call anybody yet because any minute, sure, this electricity is going to come on.’ Which would be the assumption in a big city.”
People in Greenfield also had concerns about storm response. During the storm Sunday afternoon, lightning struck a tree that fell onto wires on Nantasket Street, setting fire to roughly 75 feet of overhead electrical wire and partially knocking out power in residents’ homes.
Several residents said the fire department arrived several hours after they called, and they had difficulty reaching Duquesne Light.
By the time the fire crew arrived, resident Frank Civatate had already started chopping the debris with a chainsaw to clear up the street. The fire department yellow-taped the area and told residents that it would have to defer to the electrical company to fix the wires.
Mr. Civatate’s wife, Linda, said she has never seen the power cords outside of her house catch fire in the half-century they’ve lived on Nantasket. As of Wednesday afternoon, Linda said their home still only had power in their basement. After her persistent calling, a representative from Duquesne Light arrived Wednesday morning and said a crew would work on the street later that evening, she said.
Ms. Civatate said she recognizes the electrical company is inundated with requests, but she said it should have requested backup from other counties.
“These guys are working 18 hours [per day]. I’m sure they’re exhausted,” she said. “But to me that’s when you look outside to try to bring someone in to help.”