With the chilly temperatures outside, Riverside Brookfield High School two brief power outages on January 19, 2016.

“We were told that it (the power) went out in the community in Brookfield at 1:06 (pm),” assistant principal Dave Mannon said. “It was back on at 1:19.”

In the midst of third hour, roughly between 9:55 and 10:45 in the morning, RBHS experienced its first of two brief power outages on the day. Mannon did not know why the first outage occurred.

“It’s really cold so, who knows? We are kind of at the mercy of the power lines of the community.”

Luckily, this power issue is not affecting the RBHS heating system. Mannon explained how the RBHS heating system produces and recycles heat. So with the power being out for 15-20 minutes, there was zero concern that heating would also be an issue.

Mannon believes there will most likely not be another power outage.

“We have back-ups and things like that in place, like power generators,” Mannon said.

Although this issue is not affecting the heating at RBHS, Mannon still stresses to dress warmly for the weather, encouraging students to wear warmer clothes and bring sweaters for the day.

“With the conditions outside, wear the necessary items and clothes and make sure to layer up,” Mannon said. “We recommend to dress for the conditions, not the style.”

The RBHS student population – as well as the staff or community – should not be worried with any of the power issues.

“This is just one of those instances that was just isolated. Because of the cold streak that we’re on,” Mannon said, “it affected a transformer. It is out of our control….but we have generators and back ups that are there for a reason.”

The RBHS administration, if the power is out, still has access to the PA system which is able to get directions out to students and quickly manage the situation.