‘A phenomenal job’
Leaders praise public works crews for quick snow removal
Local municipalities competently handled the season’s first snowstorm and public works employees and departments won praise from their bosses across the area.
“The Public Works crew is doing a phenomenal job,” said Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti early Thursday while plows continued cleaning up the night’s snowfall.
The snowstorm started during the evening Wednesday, dumping an average of between 8 and 14 inches on local communities by the time the snow petered off about noon Thursday. Parts of Bridgeport reported between 6 and 8 inches of snow; Fairfield and Westport measured slightly more than 8 inches and Trumbull reported 10.5 inches.
Local schools had called a snow day and several communities closed city halls. Trash pickup was suspended for a day. Most traffic was light and downed lines from the snow and high winds — at one point wind gusts were measured as high as 40 mph — remained minimal.
Despite earlier concerns of widespread power issues, Eversource’s peak outages were about 400 by Thursday afternoon. By around 5:30 p.m., outages had
dropped to just 15 statewide, with five of them in Wilton.
United Illuminating reported more than 650 outages, with nearly 500 in Trumbull, Thursday morning. By 5:30 p.m., UI reported one outage in New Haven affecting two customers.
State Police reported no fatal accidents on the roads Thursday. Troopers responded to 59 accidents and more than 200 motorist assists.
According to Gov. Ned Lamont, more than 700 state Department of Transportation plow trucks worked through the night and into Thursday to clear the roads.
Tractor-trailers and tandem trailers were banned from 9 p.m. Wednesday until 9 a.m. Thursday, which Lamont said was a big help for plows keeping up with snow on the roadways. Neighboring states issued similar bans.
And local community leaders continued to praise their crews as the cleanup continued.
“We had a plan in place and it came together perfectly,” said Derby Mayor Richard Dziekan. “Everyone did a great job and I’m very happy to have seen the way our employees cooperated and reacted.”
Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis said she was “so proud” of the plowing Public Works crews did and the availability of volunteers in the fire department, emergency services and ambulance crew “who left they families last night and made themselves available to the residents.”
“This was my first storm
as Seymour’s first selectman and I am so proud of how everyone came together,” she said.
Fairfield First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said, “Our guys were out there all through the night (and) out there this morning. The roads are pretty good.”
Fire Chief Denis McCarthy said the Fairfield police department reported it had no incidents overnight.
“We had a few EMS calls we responded to (and) only one power issue that was quickly resolved,” he said. “There were no power outages. So, all-in-all, we fared very well.”
Westport saw a relatively quiet morning of cleanup, according to officials.
“We had no problems. Public works cleared most of the streets and the public parking lots. They’re just finishing up now,” Deputy Fire Chief Michael Kronick said around midday Thursday. “It was a relatively quiet snow storm because everybody’s working from home.”
Shelton Emergency Management Director Michael Maglione said outside of a couple mechanical breakdowns, public works crews
continued clearing the roads without disruption.
Maglione said the city brought in an outside contractor to aid with the cleanup.
Echo Hose Ambulance Assistant Chief Joe Laucella said his crews responded to 13 calls during the storm.
“We had three crews on duty during the evening and overnight hours while the storm was at its worst, prepositioned throughout town at some of the fire houses to help ensure faster on scene times during the forecasted major storm event,” Laucella said.
In Bridgeport, Mayor Joe Ganim said the declaration of a snow emergency on Wednesday remained in effect overnight and encouraged residents to remain safe at home so the Public Facilities Department crews could finish the cleanup. Crews were focusing on secondary roads and dead ends Thursday afternoon and would continue until all the roads had been plowed, he said.