As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2, 100% of the lights were back on in Plympton, according to Captain John M. Sjostedt, III, Emergency Management Deputy Director. It wasn’t easy.
The storm blew from Tuesday night, Oct. 26, through Wednesday night, Oct. 27, ripping huge trees out of the ground or snapping their trunks like popsicle sticks, taking out utility lines as they fell. Eversource, the power source for Plympton, one of the most expensive in the state, was slow to respond to the little town of Plympton.
“Our biggest problem was communication with Eversource. “ Sjostedt said. “They weren’t listening.” By Friday afternoon, with 97% of the town still without power, Fire Chief Stephen Silva got on the phone to all of the television news outlets to come to Plympton and see for themselves. And they did. With all of Plympton depending on electricity for water from wells, it became a necessity.
“This was a wake-up call,” Sjostedt said. “We’re very lucky the outside temperatures were above freezing.” Had the storm hit in winter, things would have been very different. “We will definitely have a detailed after action report,” he said.
Sjostedt said that even before they got power back to the homes, the department was working on ways to fine tune the things that worked and work on the things that didn’t. “In all, Plympton Fire Department answered 70 calls over the course of the storm – quite a lot for a small town like Plympton.“
Briggette Martins, assistant to the selectmen, wanted to applaud Fire Chief Silva and his department for the great job they did throughout, as well as Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte and his crew. “It took a lot of people working together to come out of this storm as well as we did,” Martins said, “and no one got hurt.” Thanks also were sent to Shaw’s Supermarkets in Carver for donating refreshments for the workers.
Halifax Police Chief Joao Chaves asked motorists to please be patient driving during storms. Fire Chief Jason Viveiros and a Halifax town employee from the maintenance department, were out with chain saws helping to clear trees down on Elm Street when a driver who wouldn’t wait drove over the tree being cut, causing it to snap back, knocking the maintenance employee to the ground. The employee was then taken to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries and later released. The driver causing the episode did not stop, just raced away. The incident is being actively investigated by Halifax Police. Anyone who has any information is asked to contact Halifax Police at 781-293-5761. They would like to speak with him.
Halifax Fire Chief Jason Viveiros told the Express that his department answered 74 calls. At the height of the storm 100% of the town was without power. National Grid, that supplies electricity to Halifax, assigned a liaison early in the storm to work directly with Halifax to prioritize the areas to be restored.
“We were fortunate that by Wednesday night, National Grid was able to get the Route 106 business corridor open… By Saturday morning, almost 100% of the town’s power was restored,” Viveiros said. In all, 13 houses were damaged from trees falling on them.
People have had a look at what could be coming for winter storms. The Old Farmer’s Almanac has predicted a cold and snowy winter. Stock up, be prepared, and be safe.