By Amy Batista, Special Writer
Local towns prepared for another winter snowstorm leaving residents digging their way out of a foot of snow in some areas on Wednesday.
A winter storm warning was issued for Janus, which arrived Tuesday bringing heavy snow, strong winds and temperatures with lows in the single digits and highs in the upper teens. The storm produced 8 to 12 inches of snow in the area, according to the National Weather Service of Philadelphia/Mount Holly.
Gov. Chris Christie declared a State of Emergency Tuesday evening, authorizing the state director of Emergency Management to activate and coordinate the preparation, response and recovery efforts for the storm with all county and municipal emergency operations and governmental agencies. Gov. Christie also authorized the closing of state offices on Jan. 22 for all non-essential employees.
”The biggest thing is when it is a State of Emergency that the general public should stay off the road unless it is necessary,” said East Windsor Volunteer Fire Company No. 2 Chief Eric Coran on Wednesday. “It makes it easier for first responders and the plows to do their job.”
Hightstown Borough posted a message on its website advising residents as well to keep roadways clear.
”The OEM Coordinator (Jim Sidelinger) reminds all residents to avoid driving during this weather event, for their own safety and to permit road crews to clear the roadways for emergencies,” the post read.
Cranbury Police Chief Rickey Varga and Office of Emergency Management (OEM) coordinator did have some general winter preparedness tips for residents.
”Given the expected frigid temperatures over the next few days we ask our residents to be mindful when planning any outdoor activity or travel,” said Chief Varga. “Black ice on both roadways and walkways will be prevalent. Layer and dress warm. Cover normally exposed skin.
” When going outdoors expect the unexpected so if for some reason you are stuck out longer than expected you will remain warm and comfortable. Frostbite and hypothermia can set in quickly in subzero wind chills, use extreme caution. Use extreme caution on the roadways. Four wheel or all-wheel drive is ineffective on ice for handling and stopping.”
Some towns got a jump start on preparing for the storm.
”(Cranbury) Township began preparing for the storm early Tuesday morning,” Chief Varga said. “Public works prepped trucks with salt and plows, as well as gear and equipment. They began salting as snowfall began,” Chief Varga said. “Public works salt truck and plows remained operational throughout the duration of the storm. At no time were any roads deemed impassable. By daybreak all township roads were plowed and public works reverted to intersection maintenance and cleanup and over salting.”
Jamesburg Business Administrator and Chief Financial Officer Denise Jawidzik noted that the “storm was no different than any other” when it came to the borough preparing for it.
”This storm was no different than any other,” said Ms. Jawidzik on Thursday. “We always prepare by making sure equipment is working and that we have enough salt. We only have a three-man road department so they were all working throughout the storm.”
If any residents a need for shelter or warming center, call the Jamesburg Police Department at (732) 521-0011.
”Cranbury Township Public Works did an amazing job keeping ahead of the storm and will continue cleanup efforts throughout the remainder of the day,” Chief Varga said. “The Cranbury Township Police and Department of Public Works would like to thank our residents for listening to our requests to delay travel plans and stay off roadways. It helped make our progress and efforts more efficient.”
Monroe Township Business Administrator Wayne Hamilton found that this storm “presented a real challenge as most people were already at work or school.””We utilize the Department of Public Works personnel, Monroe Township Utility Department (MTUD) personnel and an outside contractor to handle our 150 miles of roadway,” said Mr. Hamilton on Wednesday. “We divide our own personnel into two 12-hour shifts which allowed us to have alert people behind the plows to keep them and the public safer.”
The number of vehicles on the road presented a challenge to plow operators and slowed the process a little despite the fact that most were allowed to leave early, he added.
The concern towns are facing now is the extreme cold temperatures which were creating a “large icing problem” and making it harder for the salting of the roads to help melt away the ice.
”Now that the storm has passed, the extraordinary cold weather presents a large icing problem,” Mr. Hamilton said. “We were well prepared with almost 1,000 tons of salt as well as liquid calcium chloride, but the sub-zero wind chills inhibit the effectiveness of those products — it just takes longer. We are getting some good sun today which should help a little despite the freezing cold.”
Many of the schools in the area had an early dismissal on Tuesday and were closed on Wednesday.
East Windsor Regional School District Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer sent out a message Tuesday evening closing the schools.
”Schools will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, Jan. 22 due to the inclement weather,” said Dr. Forsthoffer. “We had two emergency days built into the calendar and we are now using our third day. Please see the district calendar on our website so that you can begin to plan accordingly.”
Schools were closed early due to the weather and there was no afternoon kindergarten.
Some municipal buildings were closed due to the storm while others had a delayed opening. Jamesburg Borough posted it was closed on its Facebook page. The East Windsor Township municipal building opened 90 minutes late on Wednesday while the Senior Center was closed, according to an E-News Update from the township.
Many of the Emergency Services, fire departments and police departments in the area added on extra manpower and stationed at their buildings.
”From the first responder perspective, we add extra EMS and police personnel and hold them over as necessary until relief personnel are able to safely make it in and the storm subsides,” Mr. Hamilton said, adding that the ambulances travel with first responder vehicles equipped with plows during the storm.
Cranbury Township had a total of 34 calls during the storm.
”From the start of the storm up until 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, police officers responded to seven motor vehicle crashes and six stranded motorist calls,” Chief Varga said, adding that there were three storm related ambulance calls as well as a total of 34 calls for service.
Hightstown Police Department utilized their new all-wheel-drive police vehicles.
”The police had no snow-related problems getting around with our new AWD police vehicles,” said Hightstown Police Department Police Director James LeTellier. “The public should always use caution and stay off the roads when storms like this hit.”
Mr. LeTellier reported that the borough had only two motor vehicle accidents and one fall victim and a total of eight calls all together.
Fire departments called in members to stand by at their buildings in preparation for the storm.
The East Windsor Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 had a crew of its members who stayed overnight starting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening and remained there till noon on Wednesday during the storm to ensure a faster response time to its residents.
”We stand by to ensure a faster response in the case of an alarm; also we maintain the snow removal at the station to keep the walkways clear,” said Chief Tony Katawick. “The township provides snow plowing for the fire companies and rescue squads.”
The only call the department had was for a sprinkler system alarm malfunction.
East Windsor Volunteer Fire Company No. 2 also was on stand-by at its station starting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday to the following morning and had no calls.
”We call these stand-bys so that we can be ready for any calls that come in and with the storm it delays the members responding to the station where as if they are already at the station they are ready to go,” Chief Coran said. “We were very lucky and did not have any emergencies to go to during the storm.”
The firefighters would like to remind residents to be aware of fire hydrants and “adopt” a fire hydrant in their area and to keep them clear and visible.
”With large amounts of snowfall, I would like to remind residents to be aware of the fire hydrants and when they are clearing in front of the homes not to cover them,” Chief Katawick said. “It is very important that the hydrants remain visible.”
Freezing pipes bursting has been something that many fire departments have found themselves responding to in mostly commercial areas where the pipes are located outside and not protected as well from the frigid temperatures.
”Residents should be reminded with the very cold weather to keep the heat up on unoccupied and occupied buildings to prevent the water pipes from freezing and bursting,” Chief Katawick said.
Home fires are more prevalent in winter than in any other season. People are at greater risk in the winter season when they may use unsafe heat sources or if they don’t follow fire safety rules in the kitchen or while using candles, according to the United State Fire Administration (USFA) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
Chief Coran had some additional warnings for residents in hopes of saving lives.
”We want people to know that they shouldn’t use their gas stoves to heat their homes because it causes carbon monoxide which is extremely harmful and could be deadly,” Chief Coran said.
Keep anything that can burn at least three feet from any heat source like fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators, or space heaters, according to the NFPA.
”Use extreme caution if using portable heaters and only use them as recommended by the manufacturer and never leave them unattended,” Chief Katawick said.”Do not use cooking appliances as a source of heat this also is an extreme safety hazard.”
Also, a reminder to check your carbon monoxide detectors, especially if you have a chimney in your home.
“”“”“”“”Many residents were kept up-to-date in the various towns through Facebook postings and receiving Nixle alerts.
”Cranbury Township Police kept residents up to date on storm and roadway conditions through our community (Nixle) notification system” Chief Varga said.
”We encourage our residents to take an active part in community safety by checking on elderly neighbors or those with any special needs,” Chief Varga said. “We also encourage those with special needs to notify the Cranbury Township Police so we may be aware of any such needs to insure such needs are not disrupted during these types of events.”
