March 5, 2013
The Charlottesville Fire Department is pulling out the tire chains in preparation of six to nine inches of snow. They want to be prepared to respond for emergency calls.
"When we go on an incline it becomes more difficult and the chains with the weight of the apparatus are really critical with us getting around as well as the amount of snow," said Charlottesville Fire Chief Charles Werner. "When we respond into the county in way of a mutual aid type situation, the travel becomes more difficult because the snow might be in higher depth."
Werner say's it's critical that all vehicles are filled with fuel, and that each engine has at least one chain saw. He says that heavy wet snow poses a problem for trees. Crews are keeping a close eye on weather conditions.
"One of the things that we will be doing to start off with is watching the forecast. That will help us gauge how much staffing that we have in place, how many people we need to have on units and how many units we want to have in service," said Werner.
The departments is also working closely with the Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle County Emergency Communications Center.
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