hypothetical situation in a snow emergency

M

mercurygrandmarquis1

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Nov 6, 2009
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this might be a stupid question but if there was a fire or medical emergency on my street in this weather how people respond? Im assuming if PD needed to respond they would just park at the bottom of the hill and walk up. but if there was a need for an engine, truck or a bus i doubt they could make it up as my street is narrow and steep.

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That's why you find 4-wheel drive pumpers in snow country.  The volly outfit I was with in Plattsmouth NE had one that we fitted with studded snow tires for the winter months (you practically needed a ladder to get up into that beast's cab). Offutt AFB outside of Omaha had 2 SnoCats fitted out as BLS ambulances that ran runs for about a 30 mile radius of the base for serious medical emergencies when the snow was really deep.  That was more than 30 years ago.  Don't have any idea what they do now.
 
I know when I was living in a rural town abut 60 miles North of NYC, the emergency services would coordinate responses with the town and county highway crews. They would send a plow and a salt spreader to assist units in responding to the incident as well as accessing the scene.
 
MGM.....FDNY has protocols &  drills for ops in heavy snow....most however involve walking into a heavily drifted street utilizing plastic stokes baskets as a sled to drag tools as well as for evacuating victims.....3 stories or less can be handled by portable ladders......hose stretches can be lengthy.....Sanitation does provide a priority for streets w/ FHs or Hospitals  on them but there is no rapid response to a scene by Sanitation we would generally arrive before them.....hopefully they have priority for streets such as you live on.....they generally can back up even the steepest hils while spreading salt from their vehicle (still a slow procedure).....i would be more concerned w/ice than snow on a hill but both are a problem......is the other end of your street a down hill ?....whats the closest side street acess to the hill......situations vary....really no hard & fast answers.....try getting all your neighbors to call 311 if the hill is that bad......the squeaky wheel theory. 
 
In the Blizzard of '78, we were able to get use of Two Snowmobiles. We used a fire dept car to tow them on a trailer. They would drive them on the main streets and then they went into the area. (like the street you live on Zack "aka MGM"). They really worked well. They dragged in a plastic skid with tools or medical equipment on it. Some of the medical calls I remember was going to a woman who was a "bleeder" and also a CPR call. Dragged the CPR call on the skid doing CPR for three blocks to a waiting ambulance. The snowmobiles were used about three days while the blizzard continued.
  There was a working fire in one of the schools during that time, and the two snow mobile stretched a 2 1/2 inch line to the fire building. As luck would have it, there was a snow plow in the area that also plowed a path for the rigs to get in.
  An interesting note too. Those two guys that operated those two snowmobiles got the nick name of "Rocky, and the Flying Squirral". Those guys really did a Great Job. Of course, the next week after working 72 hours straight, they needed more than a snowmobile to carry the ca$h they made on overtime.
 
Yes, it's Staten Island. Hillside Ave. which is a very steep single lane incline that connects Van Duzer St. up to the Wagner College/Grymes Hill area. It's an alternate shortcut for emergency vehicles to take to Grymes Hill, Sunnyside and Clove Lakes when Narrows Road N. is clogged up with traffic which happens quite often.
 
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