Charlottesville rescue services are preparing for this weekend’s powerful winter storm.
The Charlottesville Fire Department is bringing in additional staff and equipment. The Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad, a volunteer-run organization that responds to 911 calls in the city, is tripling its staff on duty this weekend in preparation.
The winter storm could bring 10–14 inches of snowfall to central Virginia between Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, Jan. 25, snow might transition into 2-3 inches of sleet and up to 0.25 inches of ice, CBS19 News reported.
“The temperatures we’re going to experience are no joke. Hypothermia is a very, very real risk in a very short amount of time,” said Chief Daniel Paxton of the Rescue Squad.
The rescue teams are preparing to respond to calls about hypothermia, car accidents, injuries connected to overexertion while cleaning the snow and traumatic injuries. If the electricity goes out and people start to use alternative sources of warmth, the Fire Department is also expecting to see calls about fires caused by improperly cleaned fireplaces along with high levels of carbon monoxide, a byproduct of using fuel-burning appliances, which can be deadly, said Charlottesville Fire Department Battalion Chief Lee James.
And it might take longer for both the Fire Department and Rescue Squad to reach people.
“One big challenge for us is just getting there. We respond to an incident, whether it’s medical or fire related, in a timely manner. Two days from now — 48 hours from now — that response time will be lengthened. It’ll take us longer to get there, and it may be more of a challenge to get a patient from their home, to the ambulance, to the hospital,” said James.
To prepare for the increased demand, the fire department is bringing in more people for this weekend — instead of the standard 23 people on shift, there will be at least 30. And if their staff doesn’t feel safe getting home after their 24-hour shift ends, the department is prepared to accommodate them at the station until the roads are better.
The Rescue Squad is also bringing in more people, said Paxton. Normally, a night shift at the rescue station includes about six people. For the weekend of Jan. 24–25, it’s going to be about 20 people.
“Those people expect that, once they get here, they might be stuck here till Monday, even,” said Paxton. “We’re gonna be just showing up at the station and be ready to respond.”
In addition to the increased staff numbers, the Rescue Squad will also be sending out support vehicles along with their ambulances once the roads get bad.
“What we’re very concerned with is our unhomed population getting caught out in the weather. If they do get caught out and they need help, we’re still going to do everything we can to get to them, but in bad weather conditions, it’s so much harder. It’s going to take us longer to get to them, potentially, than it would on a normal day,” said Paxton. He said he hoped they would take advantage of shelters and warming centers to avoid the storm.
For everyone else, both Paxton and James urged people to be cautious in this weather — don’t leave the house unless you must. Stock up on food, water, and medication. Try not to drive, because the roads will be dangerous. Stay warm and, if you need to, get to a shelter or heating center in advance. And be cautious about alternative sources of warmth — those can be dangerous, too.
“Risks of accidents are going to be astronomical,” said Paxton.
“We just hope that people are as prepared as they can be with emergency contacts. Please make sure you have working smoke detectors in your homes — that is the quickest, easiest way to alert occupants to get out of their home in case there is an emergency in their home. Get batteries for flashlights. Don’t leave candles in rooms unattended — your dog or your cat or a young child could come by and knock it off,” said James.
“Hopefully, you have relationships with your neighbors, so that you can rely on one another.”
