CHIEF’S PRAISE AS GARDAÍ WORK ROUND THE CLOCK
MORE than 100 gardaí worked round the clock providing assistance to people across the county during Storm Emma.
Chief Superintendent John Roche praised the commitment and dedication of the gardaí, many of whom spent three nights away from home to work long shifts.
Planning began on Monday before the red alert was issued by Met Eireann and senior gardaí met with officials from Wexford County Council and the HSE.
‘We were kept informed of what was coming down the road and we put in place a contingency plan to deal with the homeless people sleeping rough around the county, of which there are around ten.’
He said gardaí brought some homeless people to a temporary accommodation facilitated by the Presentation Centre in Enniscorthy and to family members for the duration of the cold, snowy spell. ‘We helped to make sure they were safe and accounted for.’
Four four wheel drive vehicles were rented from Hertz to compliment the county’s two garda four wheel drive vehicles. ‘These were sourced to provide emergency responses during the storm which did prove challenging as road conditions were so poor. Some roads were inaccessible but our biggest problem was getting people to and from the station.’
Gardaí living within walking distance of the town stations volunteered to work 12 hour shifts. Other gardaí travelled into the four urban centres and were put up in hotels as they helped cover their areas. The staff were rotated on Saturday. Throughout Storm Emma gardaí assisted the Civil Defence, the firebrigade and other agencies with their work. ‘We assisted, where possible, in welfare and medical cases. We had a number of calls from ambulance control to check on parents who were living alone or cut off from family because of power outages in their area meaning they had no way to charge their mobile phones. We escorted patients to dialysis to University Hospital Waterford.’
Supt Roche said the public heeded the warning and roads were very quiet on Thursday night and all day Friday. A minor collision occurred on Thursday on the N25 New Ross to Wexford road due to the conditions, but there were very few accidents reported across the county. ‘We did encounter, on Saturday, abandoned cars and vehicles as people began to venture out. They became stranded on the N25, N11 and N31 through no fault of their own and they obstructed the snow ploughs on Saturday and into Sunday.’
There was very little crime in the towns over the weekend as people stayed home, by and large. Gardaí were called to a number of alarms activated due to power cuts. Supt Roche said gardaí went above and beyond the call of duty to help people. ‘The impact of the storm in terms of the snowfall within a 24 hour period was unprecdented. Gardaí suffered great inconvenience, as did their families and partners left at home with the kids to mind.’