A tension transducer causes macro-bends in a single-mode fiber sensing line when a utility pole to which it is connected experiences an overturning moment. The device uses a trough shaped geometry to hold and support the single-mode sensing fiber, where an inelastically flexible hinge at the bottom, and a cinching mechanism at the top which connects to a pole mounting plate, combine to depress offset grooves on the inside of the trough walls into the fiber cable, to create a macro-bend in the single mode fiber which results in a detectable signal identifier on a time-domain laser reflectometry interrogation trace of the fiber sensor line. The device's connection to the pole mounting plate is designed to break away and disconnect at a tension value that would exceed the tensile strength of the fiber sensor cable, while still providing sufficient tension transfer to the device to close the trough about the hinge and cause a macro-bend in the single-mode fiber cable.