TAMPA, Fla — On Sunday, Tampa Electric sent 50 linemen and 100 contractors to Slidell, Louisiana to help in power restoration efforts.
TECO is a member of the Southeastern Electric Exchange (SEE), which is a network of utilities that come together to assist in case of a storm or another emergency. Crews sent out will be helping Cleco Power as linemen begin a long few weeks of work.
One of the linemen sent from the Tampa area is Colby Newcomb. He is a linemen apprentice, and this is his first time helping in storm response with Tampa Electric.
10 Tampa Bay spoke with him on Sunday, as he shared his nerves over leaving behind family and his new fiancé, Morgan Drapeza.
"My parents are nervous," Newcomb said. "My fiancé was kind of emotional this morning. Kind of makes me emotional as well to leave her. We're getting married in four months. It makes me emotional, I'm sorry."
Drapeza shared the same worry.
"It's very dangerous, they have to climb these giant poles with thousands of volts of electricity, that at any moment, they can make a wrong decision and change their whole lives," she said.
Newcomb teared up as he spoke about his fiancé, and the tough talk they had the night prior to his departure.
"I think it all hit at that time, like, you're really leaving and we gotta figure this out," Drapeza said.
Sunday morning, he loaded up his luggage onto his truck. And in his pocket, he brought with him a piece of his fiance's heart. She gave him a keychain with an inscription that reads, "come home safe to me."
"He loves the work he does," Drapeza said, describing her soon-to-be husband. "He appreciates it so much. He loves helping other people. So just that little tiny thing that I could get for him, that says come home, be safe, it's that little reminder that I'm always there for you to come home to."
TECO crews will be in Louisiana for as long as two weeks. Linemen work long hours, sometimes going long stretches without a break. If she could share a message with her husband as he works in dangerous situations miles away, Drapeza said this.
"Oh, man," Drapeza said with a smile. "I love you. I miss you. Come home safe please, and don't go touching any wires you shouldn't."
It took two days for Newcomb and 49 other linemen to get to Louisiana. As soon as they arrived, the work began.
"It's what we signed up for to help," Newcomb said. "We go away from our families to help others."