ROANOKE. VA – Emergencies don’t take a break for winter weather, nor do crews at Roanoke’s Fire and EMS stations.
“We can’t assist in the emergency if we haven’t gotten there safely,” Deputy Chief of Operations Marci Stone said.
When the snow starts to fall and roads turn slick, crews spring into action. But according to Stone, it’s not just about responding to calls—it’s about preparing ahead of time.
“We have drop chains on many of our apparatus, but we have additional chains we can put on our apparatus depending on the depth of the snow,” Stone said.
They work closely with the city on making sure roads are brined and plowed. But if they reach a road that hasn’t been cleared yet, they pave their own way.
“The fire department has their own trucks that are set up for plowing the roadway in the event that we have an emergency. They can go ahead of our fire trucks and ambulances to make sure the roadway is clear,” she said.
While crews are responding to their typical calls for help, there are added calls because of the weather.
“People lose their traction normally that don’t have mobility issues but go out and experience a slip trip or fall. We also have people get overstrained, have cardiac events because they’re trying to shovel snow or move ice,” she said.
But what if you’re the one who needs help?
“We will take a little extra time to get there,” she said.
“If it does take a little extra time getting to someone, do you have any suggestions for someone who may be having an emergency?” 10 News Anchor Abbie Coleman asked.
“Just a general preparedness feature we recommend for everybody is prior to a weather event, make sure you have plenty of food, make sure you have a good, reliable heating source,” Stone said.
You can even help prevent a potential emergency by staying off of the roads.
“We as emergency personnel don’t want to have to respond to your emergency during a weather event. It causes complications for us, and we definitely don’t want to have to delay our response to getting to you because of the weather event. So if you could just stay off the road and avoid unnecessary travel,” Stone said.
