Emergency Services operations on top of things

Instead of one battalion chief overseeing the entire county, the department has split the county into two coverage areas that will be overseen by two battalion chiefs throughout the day, and has added another emergency apparatus and driver to respond to non-emergency calls about power lines being down or other issues.

The county's E-911 communications center, with 220 calls from midnight to 8:30 a.m., also has called in additional staff.

“We again want to remind citizens to call 911 for an emergency only,” said Dakin. “Throughout the night they have received calls asking for road conditions, weather conditions and even closings. This means that a 911 line and operator are tied up... which could delay someone accessing 911 in a real emergency.”

With extra staffing at all departments, the call volume has been handled well this far into the winter storm, Dakin said.

“We again urge citizens to stay home today and just enjoy the beauty of the fresh fallen snow,” he added.