by qactv-public info

CENTREVILLE – In general Queen Anne’s County weathered the storm very well, according to Kevin Aftung, director and chief of emergency services. In his update to the county commissioners Thursday, he said, “We had flooding, and many roads damaged as well as many trees down. Some county buildings had considerable water damage. As a whole I think we did very well as it could have been a lot worse if the storm had tracked further south. We had two shelters open until noon Tuesday.”

“The Blackboard Connect reverse notification system worked flawlessly throughout the storm, and was a great tool to have in our emergency management toolbox. We had a Facebook page up as well as a Twitter page running. This helped the situation considerably, as we were able to broadcast updates regularly which greatly reduced the number of non-emergency telephone calls received,” he said. “We are currently still under a state of declared emergency, but the daily operation of running the county has been relinquished back to the Commission and County Administrator. The declaration expires on Sunday. I would advise that we leave it in place until it expires, so if we qualify for Federal Public Assistance, we can continue to count the costs of cleanup after the storm. At the peak of the storm, we had about 5,500 households without power, and about 30 people in shelters. We also requested and received 2- five ton military trucks, 1 humvee, and two swift water rescue teams. The swift water teams were from South Carolina, and were dispatched through the National EMAC program. They were assigned to the Kent Island VFD and Sudlersville VFD. Both volunteer fire departments provided food and lodging for the teams.”

One of the most significant water problems we experienced was right in the 911 center, said Aftung. A conduit that was recently installed to carry fiber optic cable into the 911 center, began dumping gallons of water into our concealed floor area. This conduit is connected to three small manholes on the road called “hand holds”. These are designed to allow access to the conduit to allow access for running the cable. During the storm, these “hand holds” filled with water, and the conduit became a drain pipe directly dumping water in the communications center. Two employees, Chief Robbie Blackiston, and Rich Richardson, our radio technician, went outside at the worst of the storm, and placed a gasoline powered pump into the hand holds to stem the flow of water. Blackiston and Richardson climbed down into two separate hand holds head first with their feet being held by Billy Faust, Chairman of the Fire and EMS Commission, then applied a sealant to stem the water flow. “We had to call Price and Gannon in Centreville and ask them to open so we could buy the sealant. This was truly the difference in getting the problem resolved,” said Aftung. “Both men literally risked their lives to get the water flow stopped. When they finally got the water stopped, our interstitial floor (the hidden, open floor area under the communications center) had taken on several inches of water, and the water had begun to flow into the equipment room. Our on duty dispatchers immediately began moving equipment and vacuuming water that entered the equipment room. The net result is that by getting the water flow stopped, Blackiston and Richardson saved about 7.5 million dollars’ worth of radio equipment from being destroyed.” One particular piece of radio equipment, the zone controller, could not have been replaced as the part is longer made. Had that controller been damaged, the county would have had to request the immediate purchase of a complete new radio system. Loss of the zone controller would have affected communications to Caroline and Talbot County. “These two men deserve to be recognized for their truly gallant effort to save our communications center,” said Aftung. “And thanks to DPW Director Todd Mohn and his staff, we were able to quickly remove all of the water that had entered the 911 center.”

“The excellent relationship we have with all of the department heads, managers, partner agencies and volunteer fire departments made for a very smooth operation during the storm,” said Aftung. “I could not be more proud of all employees in the county. The degree of dedication of our employees is astronomical.”hurricx