OPG’s Enzo Napoli shows life-saving courage, dedication on the job in Niagara Falls
On a day shift during Labour Day weekend in September 2021, OPG’s Enzo Napoli was confronted with a life or death situation from his perch atop the sprawling International Niagara Control Works (INCW) dam on the Niagara River.
The Hydroelectric Operating Supervisor was working alone, monitoring and controlling the flow of the river above Niagara Falls, when he spotted a woman fall into the turbulent waters near the foot of the 18-gate dam.
Napoli quickly sprung into action, closing all four inner gates of the dam and calling 911.
“The whole time I was on the phone with 911, I was looking downstream, trying to see where she would pop up,” said Napoli, whose immediate fears were of the woman getting trapped in a vortex near the gates, where water can rush as fast as 750 cubic metres per second.
Luckily, Napoli could hear the woman’s faint cries for help above the sounds of the roaring river and the closing hydraulic gates.
Immediately, he grabbed a life ring buoy and raced down seven flights of the control tower’s fire escape stairway. Once on the ground, he spotted the woman struggling to stay above the water about 13 metres from one of the dam’s gates.
“I threw her the life ring and pulled her upstream away from further danger,” Napoli said. “That’s when I began to hear the sirens.”
Napoli stayed with the woman, ensuring she stayed calm, until police and paramedics arrived to pull her out of the water.
“I threw her the life ring and pulled her upstream away from further danger. That’s when I began to hear the sirens.”Enzo Napoli, Hydroelectric Operating Supervisor
For his courageous and quick-thinking actions on the job, Napoli received the 2022 Lifesaving Award from Electricity Canada in November.
But the modest Napoli insists his actions were just part of the job and his duties as a hydroelectric operator.
“In situations like this, there really is only one action to take,” he said. “An incident like this definitely makes you more aware. You’re constantly thinking what you need to do, whether it’s dealing with vessels or people that get into trouble in the river.”
Around its dams and hydro stations, OPG works closely with partners in site communities to promote public safety, and these facilities are clearly marked with warning signs and barriers.
In addition to keeping an eye out for wayward vessels and people, Napoli and his colleagues at the INCW have the very important responsibility of controlling and diverting huge amounts of water on the Niagara River every day.
With the aid of the 472-metre-long dam, the INCW ensures enough water is dispatched to OPG’s Sir Adam Beck generating stations and the New York Power Authority’s Robert Moses Niagara station in accordance with the 1950 Niagara Treaty, securing clean, reliable hydro power on both sides of the border.
As part of this accord, the dam also ensures enough water is diverted over Niagara Falls during tourist and non-tourist hours.
“The job is very dynamic and constantly changing every day.”
Before starting his journey into hydro, Napoli spent several years working as a chef – overseeing kitchen staff and food preparation rather than rushing water.
Seeking a different flavour of career, Napoli went back to school for electrical engineering and worked for four years as an electrical apprentice.
He joined OPG in 2010 as a hydroelectric operating trainee and worked his way up, first as a supervisor at the Sir Adam Beck control room, and now in river control at the INCW, a post he has been in for about four years.
Working in hydro, Napoli says he takes great pride in his role to provide OPG and Ontario with clean, affordable, and reliable power.
“In the end, we are helping to give OPG’s hydro operations the clean fuel they need to run,” he said. “Depending on how well we assess the river’s conditions and how much water we’re expecting, that’s all helping to secure resources and value for OPG and the province.”
Interesting tidbits
- In previous career, worked as executive chef at the Lake House restaurant in Vineland, Ont.
- Hobbies include motorcycle riding, fishing, and skiing with the family.
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