East Pierce Managed High Call Volume During Snopocalypse, Even Without Power

A power outage at the peak of the snowstorm didn't slow down East Pierce Fire and Rescue on Thursday -- by the end of the day, crews had responded to 65 incidents in a 24-hour period, compared to a typical night of 22 calls. By the end of the day on Friday, crews had responded to 73 calls.

While Snopocalypse kept the crews kept busy, they were prepared.

“Our efforts started Tuesday at a command staff meeting,” said East Pierce Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Jerry E. Thorson.

Most calls, beginning Thursday and continuing through the weekend, were related to downed trees and power lines. There were suprisingly few auto accidents during the storm, fire crews reported, but one serious house fire that caused up to $100,000 in damage.

Firefighters responded to the house fire on the 21000 block of Edwards Road East, at the north end of Lake Tapps, around 12:30 p.m. Thursday. When they arrived, the two-story home was fully involved.

According to the Pierce County Fire Marshal, the cause of the fire was heat generated from a wood stove. He estimates the dollar loss for structure and content at $100,000. No one was injured.

“A house fire requires a huge number of resources,” said Thorson. “The decision to staff up in preparation to the storm meant we were able to continue to respond to storm-related calls while fighting a fire.”

Extra firefighter crews were assigned for early Thursday morning, when the weather reports showed the storm was to hit. Firefighters checked tire chains and gear. Arrangements were made to staff two volunteer stations with volunteer firefighters for the duration of the storm. Police and public works representatives began staffing the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at the Public Safety building in Bonney Lake to coordinate emergency response.

Even with extra preparation, all of the East Pierce fire stations lost power on Thursday, except for the Milton station. The East Pierce headquarters station and the Bonney Lake Police Department are both located in the Public Safety building and both subsided without power throughout the day and utilized the building generator. Even with the generator, the building did not have internet access or power in certain parts of the building. It wasn't until Friday morning that power had been restored.

By Friday afternoon, the calls were slowing, but by the end of the day, the crews had responded to 73 calls.

“From the fire department’s perspective, most of the emergency was over,” said Thorson. “Crews were still very busy, but we weren’t overloaded like we were on Thursday.”

The EOC closed operations at around 2 p.m. Friday. Thorson said that there were no serious injuries reported as a result of the snow and ice.

Although the storms have passed, the fire department encourages all citizens to update their home emergency plan and be prepared for future weather-related emergencies.

“Taking a few precautions can prevent serious injury or illness.” Thorson said.

“First and foremost, never place a generator indoors,” he added. “Generators produce carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas that is toxic. If you use a generator, make sure it exhausts well away from your home. Fortunately, we had no carbon monoxide issues in the area during this storm. That hasn’t always been the case.”