ChrisHayes's Blog

Here's how you can report dangerous wires exposed on light poles around the city.

Call the St. Louis Streets Department Citizens Service Bureau at 314-622-4800. Post what you find here too -- as well as any results on how long it takes for workers to fix it.

Thursday night's Fox Files looked at the continuing problem of high voltage wires hanging out street lights all around the St. Louis area. They're right there, easily accessible to children and animals.

Kids have died after touching exposed wires on street lights and the city has tried for years to solve the problem. Aluminum covers were attractive to thieves who could get a little cash for them at scrap yards. So the Streets Department went to fiberglass plates with the warning "High Voltage." The acting director told me those covers sometimes disappear because of vandals.

There's now a heavy duty cover that really looks like it'll do the job, but the city needs your help to find all the problem spots. You usually can't spot the problem from the street. It's visible to pedestrians walking on the sidewalk or people hanging out in the park. Workers want to fix any problems within 24 hours, so if you spot the danger, call the Citizens Service Bureau.

Post anything you find here.

If you need help picturing this, look for our report in the Fox Files archive.