Storm, Aftermath Kept Volunteer Firefighters Busy For More Than A Week

In more than 25 years as a firefighter, Capt. Wayne Goeben has never seen anything like the rare October snowstorm that hit the area.

The town of Canton Volunteer Fire and EMS Department has certainly responded to situations that have resulted in injury and death and fortunately firefighters and other residents avoided that in this case.

But in terms of the duration and continued danger, this storm eclipsed anything Goeben’s seen.

“Without question,” he said, adding that the calls came in cycles for more than a week.

 “There were very distinct phases to it,” he said.

Goeben said the calls followed a general pattern.

• Emergency Response: Trees on buildings, wires on Cars (occupied), smoke in homes due to electrical problems, removing citizens trapped in their homes by downed trees/poles etc. (Oct. 29 to 31)
• Stabilization: Clearing roads with town highway crews, welfare checks, assisting the shelter with citizen needs (medicines etc.), blocking unsafe areas. (Oct. 31 to Nov. 2)
• Recovery: Pumping basements, clearing CO calls (pumps, gas fireplaces etc), smoke in houses as power was being restored, unsafe conditions due to lines being re-energized. (Nov. 1 to Nov. 5)”

And after Nov. 5 calls related to tree continued. And it didn't stop there. On Monday, Nov. 7, the department spent much of its drill night, accessing damage to fire trucks, chainsaws and other equipment. Somehow there was little damage to apparatus but numerous items did need some attention.  

During the storm and its aftermath, those in the Collinsville station alone responded to more than 100 calls.  

For most firefighters and ambulance personnel the response started at approximately 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 when numerous members of the department reported for duty at the town’s three fire stations.

As the afternoon and evening progressed the calls for downed trees, limbs and power lines multiplied. Many limbs and poles caught fire.

Other calls, such as trees on houses, started coming in as well. 

And as firefighters responded, more limbs and wires continued to fall. 

“The guys were truly at risk with stuff falling all around them,” Goeben said. “The first night was the worst.” 

The department had all of its apparatus on the road and some 30 volunteers but the situations were so numerous firefighters worked to make areas safe, roped them off and moved on. Other town crews and departments also worked throughout the storm, often in conjunction with firefighters.

Safety officer David Leff remembers one call to check on a house with a tree on its roof. Due to the situation, firefighters had to walk about a quarter mile to the house.

Four firefighters were armed with flashlights. Two shone the lights above and two ahead, keeping an eye out for falling limbs, he said.

“The trees were cracking around us; it sounded like the fourth of July,” Leff said. “It was a hairy situation.”

As several motorists got stranded, the Collinsville station became a makeshift shelter.

At one point Goeben drove some residents to their homes on Trailsend Drive. It was like being in a different world with everything so dark, he said.

“It looked so different – no lights, no reference point,” he said. “It was really odd.”

And many roads were impassable. 

At the height of the storm major roads like Route 202, 44 and 179 were closed.

That made a hospital transport to St. Francis take two and a half hours, John Bunnell, acting assistant chief of EMS, said.

“This is one of the worst things everyone’s seen,” Bunnell said.

But Bunnell said everyone worked together, made smart decisions and did their jobs.

“Everyone went about and did what they were supposed to do,” Bunnell said.

In at least one case that involved cutting trees to free up one of the department's own vehicles which operators had stopped for a downed tree in front of it, only to have one fall behind it.

Finally, around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, there was so much debris in the roads and the situation became so dangerous that the department pulled its personnel off the streets, just ready to respond to a true emergency such as a large house fire, Goeben said.

But after a few hours break, firefighters were back on the streets. 

By Monday, the focus shifted to helping town crews open streets, checking on residents or helping them get to the town’s emergency shelter at the Community Center, which opened Sunday morning.

And for more than a week, sometimes in spurts, firefighters and EMTs responded to calls of all sorts such as more wire problems as power came back on, additional limbs that had fallen, medical calls, flooded basements, carbon monoxide alarms and more.

“That’s when it gets tough,” Goeben said. “The guys are exhausted. They’ve got their own homes, their own jobs school . . . “

Along the way, the generator at the Collinsville station broke down for a time, requiring the ambulances to be moved and creating other hardships. 

In the midst of it all, firefighters also managed to deliver some water and rations to the emergency shelter at the Community Center and provide some mutual aid for structure fires in Simsbury and Farmington.

At one point Goeben also helped in the town’s emergency operations center. The EOC is used in larger storms or other situations. Officials such as Fire Chief Richard Hutchings or the town’s fire marshal and director of emergency management Adam Libros help coordinate department coverage, alleviating the stress of a police dispatcher who general takes incoming calls.

Goeben said it was interesting to experience that side of it and the hectic nature of having to track everything.

“It was a whole different experience,” he said.

Jason Ronan, a firefighter/EMR based out of Canton was working when the storm came but was still in the midst of it as a tow truck driver for O’Neill Chevrolet.

Once work was through, Ronan reported for his volunteer duty, also staying on for several days with only short bouts of rest. 

“I enjoy just being able to go out and assist the public,” he said.

Volunteering can be tough on family situations but a quick phone call often relives the tension, Ronan said. 

Ryan Kerr, based out of the North Canton station, also volunteers for both the fire and EMS divisions. During the crisis, he mostly responded to fire calls. He came in Saturday night and worked until Tuesday with just short bouts of rest and then again Wednesday through Friday.

He agrees the conditions of the storm presented some real challenges.

“It was scary to say the least,” Kerr said.

Kerr also agrees the volunteering is something that benefits everyone in town.

People need help — just the desire to help people and the love of being around it,” he said.

Kerr said it’s the “adrenaline and the next set of “tones” that keeps him going.

“As soon as the tones go off, I just wake back up,” he said.

Like many others, Ronan worked for several days, catching short amounts of sleep when he could.

“You have to pull that extra amount of energy from somewhere,” he said. “Sometimes I don’t even know (where it comes from).”