WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. June 30, 2006: Westchester County has responded to the needs of rain-soaked, flooded upstate New York, sending emergency workers, police and fire officers to help with rescue and cleanup efforts.
Westchester’s assistance to Broome, Delaware and Montgomery counties is being coordinated by the county departments of Emergency Services and Public Safety. The area (including the city of Binghamton) has been devastated from this week’s rainstorms, with some streets submerged under 4 feet of water. On Thursday, Gov. Pataki declared a state of emergency in the region.
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A contingent of 54 area firefighters from 15 departments across Westchester County left for Broome, Delaware and Montgomery counties yesterday to assist with rescue operations. The Department of Emergency Services pulled the team together after upstate counties requested help. The Department of Public Safety is also sending a team of four police officers and a sergeant to assist the Delaware County Sherriff’s Department. The Sherriff’s Department, which is overwhelmed by the demands of the emergency, asked for help to augment their staff. Police will be helping to patrol and assist with anti-looting details.
Firefighters sent from Westchester were split into three teams and dispatched to the towns of Conklin, Deposit and Vestal. They returned today and were replaced by another team of 16 firefighters who brought with them eight 4x4 vehicles to help with evacuations. The second team is expected to return home on Sunday.
“They were really tired, but they accomplished a lot,’’ said Deputy Emergency Services Commissioner and Fire Coordinator John Jackson. “They aided in the evacuations and helped to secure homes and property, ensuring that electric lines were safe.”
Four staff members from the Department of Emergency Services’ Office of Emergency Management were also dispatched to Delhi, N.Y. to help staff Delaware County’s emergency operation center – the nerve center of rescue and clean up operations. OEM and staff from the county’s Department of Information Technology staff assisted the New York National Guard Units dispatched from the Valhalla Armory by supplying them with maps specific to the areas where they were being detailed.
Those Westchester agencies involved are:
Hartsdale FD
Verplank FD
Croton Falls FD
Somers FD
Montrose VA FD
New Rochelle FD
Chappaqua FD
Pelham FD
Fairview FD
Briarcliff Manor FD
Montrose FD
Mohegan FD
White Plains FD
Purchase FD
Yorktown FD
