| The Mid-Atlantic states were hit with a "blizzard" this past weekend hampering travel and plans for many across the area. This also had a huge effect on the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company being able to provide emergency service to citizens. The storm dropped over 2 feet of snow and began around 2200 hours (10:00 pm) Friday evening and ended in the early morning hours Sunday.
Prior to the storm arriving, members were at the station making sure there was plenty of salt and shovels to use. Tire chains were inspected and ready for use and apparatus was fueled and checked to make sure it could respond. Right as the storm hit, the temperatures were cold enough for the snow to stick on the roadways. Within the first hour, cars and even snow plows were having trouble making it up some hills around town.
The crews sleeping in Friday night were called upon around 0300 hours (3:00 am) on Saturday to respond to a barn fire in Montgomery County. Road conditions were very dangerous as Engine 12 had to travel back roads to the incident location.
Saturday started with personnel placing tire chains on all of the vehicles due to the 6 inches of snow already on the ground. While members worked on this, other members used the snow plows and shovels to keep the station clear of snow so units could respond on calls. As soon as they made it back inside it was almost time to go plow and shovel again due to the heavy snow falling. There was enough snow on the roads to place Engine Tanker 14 out of service as it is unable to travel on roads with a lot of snow, thus making us rely on other department's tankers if needed.
Luckily, the company only responded to two medical calls on Saturday as the snow fell. Both calls required the use of apparatus with tire chains and personnel to traverse snowy yards. The snow continued to fall throughout the night Saturday into Sunday as crews woke up to start plowing, shoveling and running calls again. Sunday landed a few more medical calls before most of the major roads were cleared of snow. |
