Close Calls, But Falmouth Weathers Blizzard With No Serious Injuries

By: Michael C. Bailey
Published: 02/12/13

Falmouth residents will no doubt find today’s sunny skies and above-freezing temperatures a welcome change of pace from what they got over the weekend—doubly so for the 2,400 NStar customers who were, as of this morning, still without power.

NStar hoped to take advantage of today’s and tomorrow’s clear weather window to finish restoring power, although the company did not predict when it would finish its work in town.

At its worst, 68 percent of the town was affected by outages, according to a release issued by Julian M. Suso, town manager, caused by the wet, heavy snow that fell.

Falmouth Police Department spent most of its time during the storm conducting welfare checks on residents, calling in road hazards to the Falmouth DPW, and assisting in transporting people to the town shelter at Falmouth High School.

“An awful lot of public assistance was rendered” during the storm, Lieutenant Brian L. Reid said. “It was just on a bigger scale because it was a bigger storm.”

Between 9 AM Friday and 9 AM yesterday, the department recorded more than 100 false residential and business burglar alarms that were triggered by the power outages.

The Falmouth Fire Rescue Department likewise dealt with numerous false alarms, which made up some of the approximately 150 calls for service it received between Friday and Sunday, Acting Deputy Chief Timothy R. Smith said.

First Responders Still Busy

“We were obviously very busy from the beginning of the storm, and we’re still busy,” Deputy Smith said yesterday afternoon. The department put extra staff on duty throughout the weekend, and by Sunday night was back to its normal shift staffing levels.

The department handled two small fires Saturday, both caused indirectly by the storm. Firefighters were dispatched to a Castle Road, East Falmouth, home after a generator overloaded the home’s electrical system, and to a Spring Bars Road Trade Center apartment to deal with a kitchen fire.

In that second incident, the resident had left food on the stove when the power went out. The pan was still on the burner when the power returned, by which time the resident had forgotten about it.

Deputy Smith said EMTs also transported “six to eight people” to Falmouth Hospital to be treated for minor carbon monoxide poisoning, most of which were due to blocked vents. One incident was caused by a home using its gas stove for heat, and another was caused by a charcoal grill being used in a garage for cooking and heat. Deputy Smith said none of the cases were life-threatening.

The police and fire departments both responded to two reports of a dead body inside a residence, but Deputy Smith said neither the person found dead inside a Seacoast Shores Boulevard, East Falmouth, home at 11:16 AM Sunday or in a Country Club Lane, East Falmouth, home at 7:08 AM yesterday were victims of any storm-related issues.

Police responded to two motor vehicle accidents during the storm, the first of which occurred just after midnight Saturday when a branch fell on an NStar service vehicle working on the lines on Route 28 South. No one was injured, Lt. Reid said.

The second accident, which occurred on Brick Kiln Road at 4:17 AM, was still under investigation, and Lt. Reid could not confirm whether the driver involved was in violation of the statewide driving ban Governor Deval L. Patrick put into place Friday afternoon.

“I think for the most part people did honor the travel ban,” Lt. Reid said.

The ban remained in effect until 4 PM Saturday, but the roads remained treacherous throughout Sunday and played a role in a half-dozen crashes. None of them resulted in any injuries or citations.

Power Outages Fill Shelter

Falmouth began experiencing widespread power loss late Friday. NStar, which called in extra contracted crews to assist its 3,000 tree and line workers, made steady progress on restoring power in Falmouth. Between mid-day Sunday and mid-day yesterday, the number of customers without power dropped from a little over 11,000 to about 6,200.

Falmouth opened its town shelter Friday afternoon, and at its peak housed 217 people, 14 dogs, and nine cats according to Chief Mark D. Sullivan of the Falmouth Fire Rescue Department. That high turnout was due to the fact the shelter was upgraded from a local to a regional shelter after several individuals were transported to Falmouth from the Upper Cape’s regional shelter at Sandwich High School, which closed temporarily due to generator issues.

“It opened on a local basis at first, but became a regional shelter due to the issues in Sandwich,” Deputy Smith said.
Chief Sullivan said the Falmouth Emergency Response Team initially staffed the shelter by itself, “and they did an outstanding job...they were the lifesavers, the real heroes of the team.”

The significant influx of additional evacuees caused the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee to provide additional help from the American Red Cross - Cape Cod and Islands chapter; the Cape Cod Disaster Animal Rescue Team (DART); the Cape Cod Medical Reserve Corps; and AmeriCorps - Cape Cod.

Even still, “we were a bit understaffed,” Chief Sullivan said, and the presence of several elderly people with medical issues, such as the need to be on oxygen, caused additional strain on the shelter workers.

“We had one 101-year-old lady who needed constant care,” he said, and she, along with a few others with advanced needs, were transported to Falmouth Hospital.

Shelter Finally Closed

The population of the Falmouth shelter was down to 50 people by midday yesterday, and by 4 PM the shelter was closed down. Most people returned to their homes and 16 were transferred to the regional shelter in Sandwich. The regional emergency planning committee has consolidated shelter occupants into the Sandwich and Dennis-Yarmouth shelters, which as of this morning remained open.

Chief Sullivan said the storm provided the Falmouth shelter with its first serious workout since it was upgraded and integrated into the Cape Cod Regional Shelter network last summer. The shelter opened twice last year, in the wake of Hurricanes Sandy and Irene, but only hosted four and 12 people, respectively.

Although roads were mostly clean and passable by yesterday morning, those lingering power outages in Falmouth and across the Cape resulted in a number of closures, including the Falmouth Public Schools and Falmouth Academy, and Falmouth District Court. Cape Cod Community College re-opened yesterday at 3 PM for afternoon and evening classes.

Marc P. Dupuis, superintendent of schools, said yesterday afternoon that all the buildings had power and school would be in session as per usual today.

The Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority offered limited runs to and from the shelters throughout yesterday as it returned to its regularly scheduled runs. Regular service was suspended at 4 PM Friday in response to the statewide travel ban.

Peter Pan Bus Lines, which also suspended service on Friday, was up and running again yesterday, with the caveat to travelers that delays could impact arrival and departure times. The Steamship Authority was also back to its regular schedule yesterday.