‘This is not safe;’ Cleveland pastor waiting on First Energy to replace broken electric pole in church parking lot

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - A pastor is concerned about her congregation’s safety; An electric pole in the parking lot looks like it could come tumbling down at any second.

“I don’t only look out for people’s spiritual welfare, I’m looking out for their emotional and physical wellbeing and this is not safe,” said Janice Irving, pastor of Whole Armor of God Ministries in Cleveland.

Pastor Irving does everything she can to protect the members of her church.

That’s why when she noticed an electrical pole dangerously leaning eight days ago, she knew she had to do something.

“I started right away calling the electric company,” said Pastor Irving.

When First Energy crews came out, Pastor Irving says they told her the pole would be replaced in two to three days.

In the meantime, she took things into her own hands, setting up cones to prevent anyone from parking near the danger.

But a couple days came and went, and the only action she saw was the electric pole tied to the church’s chimney.

Not quite the fix she was hoping for.

Pastor Irving immediately called First Energy, demanding they take the rope down, worried it was causing damage to their roof.

Then, she came back over the weekend to find the pole strapped to a decaying tree stump.

“This is unacceptable,” said Pastor Irving. “It’s dangerous and it’s not sustainable. The stump is decaying. The base of it is decayed. The pole is splintered. So you know what’s going to happen eventually. So why wait till it happens? Why not fix it?”

Sick of waiting for that permanent fix, the pole replaced, she called the 19 Troubleshooters.

We immediately called First Energy and were assured someone would replace the pole by Monday night.

A huge relief to Pastor Irving, and you can bet the 19 Troubleshooters will follow up to make sure this fix get’s done.

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