City of Utica Hurricane Sandy Follow-Up

News Release
Hurricane Sandy Follow-Up

City of Utica Hurricane Sandy Follow-Up
As Hurricane Sandy approached yesterday, the City of Utica implemented an Emergency Preparedness plan using the National Incident Management System.  At the direction of Mayor Robert Palmieri, the command staff from the Utica Police Department, Utica Fire Department, the Department of Public Works, and Engineering Department established a unified command post at City Hall, to prepare and execute an emergency response related to Hurricane Sandy.

The Command included upper level management from all departments, including Police Chief Mark Williams, Fire Chief Russell Brooks, DPW Commissioner David Short, City Engineer, Goran Smiljic, and Mayor Robert Palmieri.  The City of Utica’s command post for Hurricane Sandy was demobilized at 8:00am today and all departments have resumed regular functions.

During the storm, the Utica Police Department responded to 13 calls for, alarms, wires down, malfunctioning traffic lights, disabled vehicles, and a structure fire.  The Utica Fire Department responded to 24 calls for service including calls for EMS, wires down, a transformer fire, and a structure fire.  The Department of Public Works responded to 14 incidents of downed trees, limbs and a utility pole.

Throughout the night all department heads as well as the Mayor were mobile checking in on various incidents.  There were no reported injuries due to the storm.

The most significant incident was a fire that broke out at the former Catskill Spring Water Co. building in East Utica. Embers blowing from a smoldering portion of the building's roof were a concern, with the potential for them to catch elsewhere.

Mayor, Robert Palmieri was on the scene and said the fire department did a remarkable job in keeping the blaze under control in storm conditions.  At one point he had to move his car, parked a block away, to avoid burning embers.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Palmieri said, “We thank all the citizens of Utica for their cooperation during this potentially dangerous situation.”

“The measure of a community is not how it performs under normal circumstances, but how it reacts to times of challenge.  Our community can be depended upon to meet any crisis,” Palmieri concluded.

Mayor                                                                                                                                                                             Fax  315-734-9250
Email: mayor@cityofutica.com

Contact                Police   Sgt. Hauck           534-1229
                                Fire        Lt. Wusik              534-1226