Interagency cooperation key to storm response
As a powerful winter storm moved toward Sussex County Feb. 22, key players in the anticipated response were gathered at the Emergency Operations Center in Georgetown.
State police and county emergency services employees routinely work out of the same dispatch center, said county Public Safety Director Robert Murray Jr. State police are assigned law enforcement issues, while county dispatchers handle fire and ambulance calls.
But in anticipation of this extraordinary storm event Feb. 22-23, they were joined by representatives of the Delaware Department of Transportation and two power companies.
Participation of those groups allowed for a coordinated response, Murray said. For example, when several emergency vehicles became stuck on a snowy road, DelDOT plow trucks were dispatched to clear the way.
It amounted to a crisis triage, as help was sent most quickly to the most critical needs, said Murray, who became the county’s first public safety director in April 2024 after a 29-year career with the county paramedics, serving as director before his promotion.
“Between the agencies there was great communication,” said Dale Roberts, the county’s emergency communications public information officer. “Director Murray had all the key personnel in place.”
As the storm quickly developed Sunday, it was decided to move up the opening of an American Red Cross shelter in Georgetown, Murray said. The National Guard transported the first two residents at 2 a.m., Feb. 23, and the number of people sheltered climbed to more than 20 as power outages affected tens of thousands of homes in the county.
About 20 county emergency operations center employees who were scheduled to start their shifts the morning of Feb. 23 came in the night before to make sure they would be at work when they were needed.
“That speaks volumes to the type of employees they are,” Murray said.
And they would be needed.
The emergency operations center handled a total of 2,334 administrative and 911 calls during a 48-hour period. That included more than 100 motor vehicle crashes and 100 abandoned vehicles.
Calls to 911 dispatch are typically for medical emergencies, downed power lines and trees on roads, Murray said. Administrative calls include alarm companies reporting issues and non-emergency calls to fire departments and police.
On Feb. 23 alone, the emergency operations center handled 1,450 calls. By comparison, the previous Monday there were 486 calls.
“It did overtask us, but it was a tremendous job for the volume,” Roberts said.
All local firehouses were staffed and their members were dispatched throughout the storm for many calls for help, Murray said.
During the storm Monday was the busiest 24-hour emergency services response that dispatchers could remember, and that includes the ice storm of 1994 and the back-to-back blizzards of February 2010, Murray said.
“This was a very condensed, heavy pounding of snow and wind,” he said.
Nearly 20 inches of snow fell and wind gusts as high as 62 mph were recorded in the county during the storm, according to the National Weather Service.
Come Wednesday, Feb. 25, Murray and his staff were assessing the storm response.
“We are starting to evaluate plans we put in place and see what worked and where we have opportunities to improve,” Murray said.
As emergency services workers themselves recovered from the storm, they were watching for signs of the next potential troublesome weather.
“We’re giving our employees a chance to rest and get ready for what may be a little snow at the beginning of next week,” Murray said.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
