Interview with Richard A. Smith (Employee of Florida Power and Light) conducted by Lori Guadni. Hurricane Andrew - A large hotel at Cutler Ridge north of Homestead This hotel suffered extensive wind damage. Courtesy National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Adminstration Photo Library:

Guadni: What is your job at Florida Power & Light Company?

Smith: I am a residential representative in charge of customer “Home Energy Surveys”. We are responsible for providing incentives to customers in order to make their homes more energy efficient.

Guadni: When did you first realize Andrew might hit Miami?

Smith: The Friday before the Hurricane hit there was some talk about it coming, but it didn’t really seem definite at that point. I realized I’d better start preparing for the Hurricane late Saturday night.

Guadni: What preparations did you make in terms of your home life?

Smith: Well my wife and I had gone out on Saturday night, so thank goodness my 4 month old son was spending the night at my motherinlaw’s house so that I could prepare for the storm. Sunday morning is when I began preparing for the storm. I woke up at about 6:00 am to go to Home Depot in order to buy plywood for our windows. We have awnings on all but three windows in our house and those were the ones we were concerned about. I got to Home Depot and they were not even letting people in the parking lot, saying that they were out of plywood. I tried several other places and couldn’t find anything so I came home and started to clear the living room (the only room with unshielded windows) as much as possible. I was thinking more of flooding, so I pretty much just picked things up off the floor. It was announced that I was in an evacuation area so I packed some bags (mostly food, diapers, etc. for my son) and I left to go to my motherinlaws house.

Guadni: Were you required to make any preparations in terms of your job?

Smith: FPL’s only requirement was to make all employees aware that they were oncall and to report to their predetermined location as soon as it was possible.

Guadni: What did you think it would be like before the storm?

Smith: I thought it would be really gloomy and rainy, but it was such a beautiful day that you could not imagine that a Hurricane was actually coming within the next 24 hours.

Guadni: Where were you and who were you with during the storm?

Smith: I was at my Inlaws house because my house is in Cutler Ridge which was deemed an evacuation area. I was with my wife, my mother and fatherinlaw and my 4 month old son.

Guadni: What were your concerns or thoughts during the storm?

Smith: Although my inlaws house did not get hit too hard I was pacing back and forth outside of my son’s room. I was mostly concerned with his safety. We did periodically check on the storm through the kitchen window. We saw as the neighbors patio got torn apart and my Inlaws shed was taken apart piece by piece. We were listening to the radio the entire time and I was constantly thinking of what was going on at my own house.

Guadni: What special services (like time off of work, etc..) did FPL offer to you and your fellow employees after the storm?

Smith: FPL was really great after the storm, I haven’t heard any complaints on the way that they handled the services, time off, etc for their employees. It was very difficult to establish communication in the days following the storm so I got my family situated and then reported to my location, which I did with no problem. Once I did report to work things were already in full swing. We had at least five facilities were there were ice, food, diapers, roofing materials, generators, gas and just about anything the employees needed. It was estimated that 2,000 FPL employees were affected by the storm in the South Dade area and 600 homes of FPL employees were destroyed or so severely damaged they were uninhabitable. Employees, like myself, that had just lost so many or all of their things were so willing to get in and help others. Many departments had supervisors and fellow employees going to other employees homes and helping to clean debris, repair roofs, provide generators, gas, food and support. FPL provided laundry and babysitting services. Laundry was done daily for more than 4,000 field personnel. An FPL hotline was established for employees who needed anything from a place to stay or just someone to talk to. FPL provided to the employees lists of contractors and supply stores that would provide priority services to the employees.

Guadni: What types of problems did you face at home during the first few weeks after Andrew?

Smith: Well the first hurdle I had to overcome, on Monday following the storm, was the traffic to get to my house. A normal 15 minute drive from my inlaws house took at least two hours, with downed poles and debris everywhere and National Guard stopping points to check drivers licenses. The second hurdle was to try to secure my house with a limited amount of supplies. I ended up taking my closet doors off and covering my exposed windows. Most of my furniture ended up either in my pool or on the pool patio, which I just left there for the time being. I removed all our valued possessions, ruined and un-ruined and packed them into the car. I emptied my refrigerator and freezer and gave all the food to my neighbors that were staying in their homes. I had heard that there were looters going through all the neighborhoods. I actually saw a looter in the house behind us when I first arrived at my house on Monday, so I wanted to try to get all my son’s belongings and bring them to my Inlaws house (since that’s where we would be living for awhile). From there I had to find a way to clean and empty my pool, to prevent any more damage. I had to drive to OpaLocka to get a gas pump and then back to my house to start pumping the water out, this took me the entire day. I put tar paper on my roof to try to prevent further damage, I removed the already mildewing carpet from the house and brought all the furniture into the carport of my house. My son was very uncomfortable and cranky with the present conditions, so my wife and him moved to Broward County, where the electricity was already back on, until my inlaws had their electricity restored on September 1, 1992. I then left my house and my family were secure enough so I reported to work on Thursday.

Guadni: What types of problems did you face at work?

Smith: The main problem at work was traffic. The traffic was so bad it took forever to get anywhere. I think that the biggest problem at the location that I was assigned was the emotional grief that everyone was feeling.

Guadni: Did you receive help after Andrew?

Smith: A difficulty I encountered was that since we were at my inlaws not everyone knew how to contact me other than through my beeper, which was not working the first week after the storm, so until I reported to work on Thursday no one knew where or how I was. Upon returning to work I received help from just about everyone; family, friends and fellow employees. My wife also works at FPL and we were both just overwhelmed with kindness and concern. And as a result FPL has created an emergency contact sheet for every employee. There must have been numerous cases like mine so now the company will have an online emergency contact for each employee.

Guadni: Did you provide help to others?

Smith: Yes, as much as I could. I continued to check on my neighbors, friends and other employees. I was able to provide relief supplies to many people. It was a great feeling to see the appreciation on peoples faces when you are able to provide them with something/anything.

Guadni: What kind of effect has Andrew had on your daily life?

Smith: Well, I haven’t slept in my house since the hurricane. I recently sold my house and bought a new house in Broward County. I am living with my inlaws, which has been hard on all of us. The traffic is still heavy and there is still debris everywhere that is very depressing.

Guadni: Has Andrew significantly changed your plans for the future?

Smith: Yes it has. I feel that I starting over, I feel I have a better understanding of life and those things that are most important in my life. Andrew was a real learning experience.

Guadni: 1) What might you do again in a similar situation? 2) What might you change?

Smith: 1) I would definitely evacuate again, if instructed to. I would do my best to secure my house before I left. 2) I would pack and take with me things that were important to me and could not be replaced, such as family pictures and important papers.

Guadni: How was your job role prior to Andrew different from your job role during the aftermath of Andrew? Please elaborate on how your job changed.

Smith: Before Andrew I was responsible for promoting energy efficient homes. I provided customers with incentives to add insulation, window tinting, heat recovery units, energy efficient air conditioners, etc. I was working a normal 40 hour week prior to Andrew. In the aftermath of Andrew I was considered a runner. I was responsible for the delivery of breakfast and lunch to the work crews, shopping for necessary supplies for our relief supply facilities, pulling damaged meters from houses that were destroyed. There were approximately 16,000 meals served daily to hurricane restoration field workers. Before Andrew my job was based on helping the customers and helping the environment. After Andrew my job was based on helping FPL and other utilities employees, so they in turn could help the customers and the environment. I was working a 7280 hour week.

Guadni: Approximately how long after the storm did you resume your normal job routine at FPL?

Smith: It was approximately 23 months after the storm.

Guadni: Why it was necessary for your job to change during those first few weeks after the storm?

Smith: The first priority was to restore power to our customers. As you can imagine, not many people were concerned with energy efficiency when they didn’t even have power. Since many of our customers no longer had roofs, ceilings, windows, doors, etc., there was no way I could help them with having an energy efficient house. FPL’s main objective was to make sure the neighborhoods and houses were safe and that our customers got the power restored.

Guadni: How is the home energy survey helping people prepare for future storms?

Smith: The survey is not directed at storm safety but towards energy conservation.

Guadni: What are some common concerns you hear of people which may be different from their prior concerns before the Hurricane?

Smith: In promoting energy efficiency FPL gives incentives for window treatment which may include tinting, bahama shutters or awnings to reduce heat from the sun rays before the storm it was very rare for a customer to spend the extra money for shutters or awnings now it is very common.

Guadni: Has the Home Energy Survey changed at all because of Andrew?

Smith: I feel that I am getting better results, people are wanting just about all the incentives that they are eligible for, whereas before the storm people might have already had insulation or window tinting so the results were fewer. Naturally, we are also being requested to do more surveys. The insurance companies paid many customers to replace ceiling insulation, window treatments and other areas of our survey and they want to spend money in order to replace these items.

Guadni: What effect has Andrew had on your job’s demands?

Smith: The main effect that Andrew has had on my job demand is that we are overwhelmed with work. We have so many request for surveys coming in that we are making appointments for weeks in advance and are also being requested to work on Saturdays. Many customers are second time customers that are eligible for another survey as a result of Hurricane Andrew.

Guadni: Please describe the role your company has played and continues to play in rebuilding the community.

Smith: The “Rebuild Resource Guide”, that was issued by FPL as a result of the hurricane, contains information on site planning, orientation and landscaping for energy efficiency; solar absorption data for various types of roofing; recommendations for insulating walls and attics; “shading coefficients” of windows; selection of energyefficient appliances, air conditioning and water heating systems and much more. These guides are being advertised on radio and billboards. FPL contributed cash and environmental expertise to ‘We Will Rebuild’. This contribution of $225,000 provides for grant money and the services of American Forests, an internationallyknown environmental organization, to assist’ We Will Rebuild’ in the environmental restoration and tree planting of areas heavily damaged by Hurricane Andrew. FPL also helps instill the ‘right tree, right place’ concept. With this concept FPL encourages planting tress for all their obvious benefits, and at the same time avoid interfering with power lines or causing safety hazards.

Guadni: Are there any positive outcomes you have seen as a result of the hurricane?

Smith: In my job I was able to meet many employees from the company that I had never met before and I think we were able to become better friends and family. Yes, in my life personally we were given the opportunity to move into a new house in a nicer area.

Guadni: Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t asked you?

Smith: No.