Thank You to All Our Emergency Services Volunteers

By Matt Riiska

Norfolk’s tranquillity was completely upended on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 5:45 a.m. We have all heard most of the details of the accident and the resultant aftermath that will take months to clean up and years of monitoring.

If there was ever a doubt how organized, efficient and dedicated our emergency management, fire department and ambulance volunteers are, I can assure you that our volunteers are well prepared and ready to handle all emergencies. When the call came in at 5:58 a.m. our emergency services volunteers were on the scene within minutes.

Following their Local Emergency Operation Plan, they assessed the situation, took care of the immediate issue, which was the safety of the driver and residents, and then took control of the scene. Seeing that the situation was far more serious than anyone could imagine, they immediately contacted the Department of Emergency Services and Homeland Security (DEMHS). This call triggered all the state and federal organizations, DEEP, EPA, the National Guard CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) response team (who monitor the chemical effects of these situations), the Interior Department Fisheries Unit and area fire departments who have the equipment and personnel trained in dealing with the threat of gasoline fire.

Within a short period of time, the decision was made to try to slow the flow of the 8,200 gallons of gasoline. Quick work by the Norfolk Public Works Department and an area sand and gravel company led to dumping many yards of sand into storm drains and culverts to stop or at least slow the flow of the gas. This decision worked quite effectively, sparing the Blackberry River from gasoline contamination.

Since the event, all these volunteers have put in hundreds of hours with the main goal of keeping everyone safe. 

I want to thank all our volunteers. If someone had dropped this scenario on the table and asked how it should be managed, our emergency management team did exactly what had to be done. I also want to thank the area firefighters and EMS people from all the surrounding towns who, without hesitation, came to help. Throughout Saturday, Saturday night, Sunday and most of the rest of the week, crews from other towns showed up to give our emergency team a break. 

Thank you.

I also want to thank the Emergency Response and Spill Prevention unit of Connecticut DEEP, Verdantas Environmental Engineers, Environmental Solutions Inc., the Norfolk Sewer District, Aquarion Water and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. They have all been here through this entire process. The cooperation with all the organizations involved has been excellent.

This is going to take a long time to clean up. Our support is with those who were most impacted by this event. All the agencies and organizations are doing everything they can to get our lives back to normal. Thank you for your patience. Please know that our Emergency Services volunteers and everyone involved are doing their utmost to work through what could have been a horrific incident.

Take care, stay healthy and I wish everyone a happy and quiet holiday season.