THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609130201
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Faces and Places
SOURCE: Susie Stoughton
LENGTH: 69 lines
Our city's emergency workers are there when we need them.
When Hurricane Fran blew past on Sept. 5 and 6, we needed them.
Firefighters and rescue personnel scurried around the city, handling calls Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The areas near the heart of downtown - Riverview, Lakeside, Old Towne and Hollywood - were hardest hit. Transformers blew and trees fell, blocking streets and crashing onto houses and automobiles.
Amazingly, no one was injured.
But the Fire Department - really a multipurpose organization that handles all sorts of emergencies as well as fires - responded to call after call. Often, they would go directly from one to another.
One of the worst areas was Hollywood, said Lt. Jeff Messinger, battalion chief in charge of the firefighters Thursday night.
Responding to a call in that neighborhood, just off East Washington Street, they were blocked by downed trees.
``We had one tree snap off and was across the road and it took out the others like dominoes,'' he said.
The firefighters had to leave their engines and climb over trees, under power lines and through debris for about five blocks as winds gusted up to 60 miles an hour and rain pelted their backs.
And they had to be constantly on guard, watching for more falling trees that could hit them or their vehicles and making sure they didn't touch any live electrical lines.
``We have to adapt to conditions like that,'' Messinger said. ``We had to make sure nobody was trapped in the house.''
Through the night, the firefighters crisscrossed the city, responding to numerous calls. Trees crashed into the roof of the Health Department and several houses.
``There's a lot of property protection when we respond to a `tree in the house,' '' Messinger said.
They try to keep the occupants' possessions from getting drenched, he said. They assist in moving furniture to another part of the house, when possible, and cover what they can with one of the department's salvage covers - until they run out.
``That is our priority,'' he said. ``Life is No. 1, then property is No. 2.''
The 30 or so fire personnel on duty on each shift were stretched to the limit several times throughout the storm, but no extra personnel had to be called. Those on duty worked around the clock.
``That's part of our job,'' Messinger said. ``We have to be prepared.''
Friday morning, another shift took over, under direction of Battalion Chief L.E. Taylor. All day, they responded to downed power lines and arcing electricity.
Chain saws buzzed as the firefighters cleared paths and removed trees from houses. The only fire call was Saturday morning when an emergency generator malfunctioned, setting a shed on fire.
Rescue workers also responded to numerous medical calls throughout the storm.
Then came the cleanup.
City crews are still picking up limbs and debris piled by the streets.
The public works department took 400 calls in a day for special pickup of storm ``trash.''
Fortunately, Fran spared the city from more serious damage.
But we're grateful that our emergency crews are trained and ready to handle whatever comes our way. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
When Fran blew through, Suffolk's emergency workers hit the streets.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FRAN by CNB