After Sandy: ‘Bristol Township Got Hit The Worst’

Bristol Township Office of Emergency Management Director Kevin Dippolito scrolled through his computer screen, reviewing the wreckage Hurricane Sandy left behind 52 weeks after the storm brought its force and fury to the Levittown area.

From his notes, he detailed the day-by-day efforts of the township in the formulation and execution of the response by the municipality for LevittowNow.com about two weeks ago.

Days prior to the storm’s arrival, Dippolito brought  the  public works, fire departments, fire police, police and the county’s emergency management teams came to together as their own force of one to combat the wrath of the devastating storm.

Dippolito and township officials in preparation for the storms rude entrance contacted police, public works and fire and emergency service units on Wednesday, October 24 to coordinate communications among the crews.

Information was disseminated fast and fluidly as plans critical to confront  the storm started to be implemented with  the  public works department cleaning storm drains and headwalls to improve drainage in advance of  the  downpour expected.

On Friday October 26,  portable generators used for traffic lights were fueled, tested to insure they working properly.

The emergency operations center,  in the bowels of the township building was prepared, stocked with equipment and  lines of communication were opened to deal with problems the storm created as they came in, he said.

Touring the operations center, maps remain on the wall detailing trouble spots,  flip pads  filled with notes itemizing  problem areas that needed to be addressed and situations resolved crossed off in blue marker, flooding the memory of reporting done throughout the days the hurricane ripped through the area.

Dippilito recalled an emergency planning meeting attended by township officials, council members and representatives from the Red Cross going over forecasts preparations and worst case scenarios with the storm looming just hours before the rain and winds moved it.

“I declared a disaster of emergency at noon on Sunday and at midnight opened and staffed the emergency operations center  to coordinate our last minute preparations,” as Sandy made her way towards the area, he said.

During the height of the storm, fire departments responded to 140 calls,  EMS  responded to 29 medical emergencies, and the fire police were working for six days assisting with traffic control , he said.

Fierce winds knocked  down power lines, forced down more than 100 trees, with some falling on to homes and crushing them, according to a number of published reports.

“Bristol Township got hit the worst,” he said. “The township, according to PECO, had 23,000 customers and at one point we had slightly under 21,000 without power.”

Communication with officials from other municipalities and county officials  was ongoing, the OEM Director said describing those conversations as a give and take process for all involved.

In addition to the damage, Dippolito, at the request of police chief James McAndrew, requested the Pennsylvania National  Guard send troops to secure neighborhoods and provide lights for the municipality, “because 90 percent of the township had no power and were in the dark at night.”

“Safety for our citizens was a big concern,”  he added.

Dippolito said in retrospect, “We were  thankful we didn’t get the heavy rain that they had forecasted. We learned that there are a lot of great people in this township. There was a tremendous showing of neighbors helping neighbors”

“I can’t think of anything off the top of my head we would have done differently,” Dippolito said. “I can’t speak highly enough of  everybody that responded to this. Whether they were citizens helping citizens, public works , the five volunteer fire departments, rescue squads, Bristol Township fire police, county EMA and so many others they simply did a great job.”

Although at the tail end of hurricane season, Dippolito said its best to be prepared and stocked when faced with the potential of an on coming storm. That was his message then as it is now.

Previous Stories in the After Sandy Series:

• After Sandy: Utility Works to Improve Response
• Expert Warns We’re Still Unprepared for Sandy-Like Event
• After Sandy: ‘I Thought We’d Be Living Like This Forever’