There was no rest for Levittown’s Volunteer Firefighters during and after Hurricane Irene’s visit to the area. Many fallen trees brought down numerous utility poles causing many small fires from the fallen power lines. Fire crews had to be careful to stay clear of the energized wires. One thing missing from this storm was flooded, stranded motorists.
Many residents are still without power as LIPA crew assisted by out of state crews from as faraway as Tennessee labor to restore power to the area. The problem crews are faced with is power to the broken poles are entwined in the trees. Before tree crews can clear the trees, they must ensure power is off, then remove the trees, many in backyards, before new poles and wires can be installed. Most of this work has to be done without the aid of bucket trucks.
Levittown volunteers responded to 34 power line related incidents, five automatic fire alarms caused by power loss or surges, three EMS calls, seven false alarms from carbon monoxide detectors (a chronic problem even without a storm) and three fires of a minor nature. In addition to the alarms, firefighters assisted in clearing trees from the local streets.
Levittown firefighters had to leave their homes to stand by in the district’s three stations from Sunday morning until late Sunday night. Chief of Department Charles Guidice directed operations assisted by his Deputy Chiefs: Fisher, Behrens, and Epple.
Owen Magee
Levittown Fire Department
