Photo from Glenwood Lake near Medina on Wednesday morning/photo by Kimberly Lesher Stawicki
Press release
During this morning’s severe weather event, the Orleans County 911 Center experienced a significant surge in emergency and non-emergency activity. Between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., dispatchers handled a total of 159 telephone calls — an average of 53 calls per hour, or approximately one call every 68 seconds.
During that same three-hour period, the Communications Center documented 57 dispatched incidents involving law enforcement, fire departments and emergency medical services. Many of these incidents were weather-related, including numerous reports of trees and utility wires down throughout the county.
Of the 57 dispatched incidents, 42 involved either downed trees or electrical/power hazards. These two categories accounted for nearly 74% of all incidents dispatched during the period. The incident log also reflects EMS calls, fire-related calls, law-enforcement service calls and other public-safety matters occurring while the storm response was underway.
Incident Breakdown
Category Incidents
Downed trees 23
Electrical / power hazards 19
EMS / medical 6
Law enforcement / service calls 4
Fire incidents / alarms 2
Other public-safety incidents 3
In addition to the incidents documented through the Orleans County 911 Center, local fire departments and highway departments responded to and handled numerous additional storm-related conditions throughout the county
Residents are reminded to use caution around downed trees and utility lines and to report immediate hazards.
Sheriff Christopher M. Bourke