For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net
*Joint Release*
Bristol, Plymouth Norfolk County Police and Fire Chiefs Provide Update on Today’s Nor’easter
Police and fire chiefs from Attleboro, Bridgewater, Canton, East Bridgewater, Easton, Holbrook, Randolph, Raynham, Taunton and Whitman would like to provide residents with an evening update on where the communities stand regarding today’s storm since the update from this afternoon.
Please note that some communities have opened up warming shelters.
Snow has steadily been falling throughout the day and the blizzard warning issued by the National Weather Service was scheduled to end at 8 p.m. Snowfall is expected to be done in the region between midnight and 2 a.m. Wednesday.
As of 8 p.m., there were about 191,000 residents in the state without power, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) outage map.
Now that it is dark, residents are still urged to stay off the roads as some areas are experiencing near-whiteout conditions.
Anyone who has an emergency should call 911.
ATTLEBORO
Fire Chief Scott. T. Lachance reports that there were about 2,000 residents without power as of 7 p.m. National Grid crews were in the city working to restore electricity.
A warming station will is open at the South Attleboro fire station, 1476 South Ave. Use the shelter to charge cell phones and electronic devices and to stay warm if you are without power. Anyone with questions about the warming station can call the Attleboro Fire Department at 508-222-2325.
While there have been multiple trees and wires down, almost all roads in Attleboro are currently open.
BRIDGEWATER
Police Chief Christopher Delmonte reports that the police department responded to approximately 50 storm-related calls beginning at 8 a.m. today. The fire department also responded to a similar number of calls.
As of 7:30 p.m. there were 687 residents without power. At the height of the storm the town had over 3,000 outages.
CANTON
Fire Chief Charles Doody reports that Canton had about 25 power outages as of 7:30 p.m.
In total, the fire department responded to 10 calls for service throughout the day.
EAST BRIDGEWATER
Police Chief Scott Allen and Fire Chief Timothy Harhen report that the police and fire departments responded to nearly 60 calls for service in relation to the storm beginning at 7:30 a.m. today.
Most of the calls were for road hazards, such as fallen trees and wires. The fire department provided mutual aid to West Bridgewater for a structure fire this afternoon and went to another call for burned food.
National Grid was in town actively working to restore about 618 outages as of 7:30 p.m.
Residents needing shelter for the night can go to a Red Cross regional shelter at the First Congregational Church at 254 Main St. in Plympton or the Plymouth North High School at 41 Obery St. in Plymouth.
While all roads are currently open and passable in town, residents are warned to use extreme caution and only drive if it is absolutely necessary.
EASTON
Fire Chief Kevin Partridge and Police Chief Gary Sullivan report that progress is being made in trying to get the number of power outages in Easton down. As of 5:40 p.m. there were about 1,900 residents without power. By 7:30 p.m that number was down to 866. National Grid has more than a dozen crews working in town.
The warming center at the Richardson-Olmsted Elementary School, 101 Lothrop St., will be open until 10 p.m. tonight. For details about the warming center or if you are in need of assistance, call the Easton Fire Department at 508-230-3311.
There were still a dozen streets in town that were closed because of road hazards as of 7:30 p.m.
HOLBROOK
Police Chief William Smith reports that Holbrook had three car crashes throughout the day — two where drivers collided with plow trucks and another where a driver struck a utility pole. None of the crashes resulted in serious injury.
As of 7:30 p.m. there were about 35 residents without power, according the MEMA outage map.
RANDOLPH
Police Chief William Pace reports as of 7:30 p.m. only about 160 residents in town did not have electricity. Crews were working to make repairs.
Most of the calls for service that the police department responded to were for fallen trees and downed wires.
RAYNHAM
Police Chief James Donovan reports that the police department responded to three crashes throughout the day, including one where a driver collided with a plow truck on Route 138. None of the crashes resulted in serious injury.
Chief Donovan says that if residents must drive, they should be aware that the road surfaces are inconsistent and uneven and to use caution. He also warns that wind and snow drifts have cause some stop signs and traffic lights to be covered with snow.
Fire Chief James Januse reports that Raynham still has a small amount of scattered power outages throughout town. There are four roads in Raynham that are currently blocked with fallen trees and wires.
In total, the police department responded to 58 calls for service and the fire department went to 26 calls as of 7:30 p.m.
TAUNTON
Fire Chief Timothy Bradshaw reports that the fire department spent most of the day responding to downed trees and wires. There were also multiple crashes and a number of medical calls, some related to shoveling and snow blowing.
There are still areas without power in the city, but all issues were being addressed in a timely manner.
The fire department is currently staffing six engines and two ladders with a total of 30 firefighters tonight, which is about eight more than are on-duty than on a typical day.
WHITMAN
Fire Chief Timothy Grenno reports that the Whitman Fire Department dealt with a variety of issues throughout the day including multiple fallen utility poles, trees that fell on cars and trees blocking roads.
As of 7:30 p.m. there was about 1 percent of the town without power.
A warming center will be opening up at the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School at 9 a.m. for residents who need to utilize it.
Chief Grenno asks that residents shovel out fire hydrants that are near homes, which will help in the event of a fire.
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