2009 News

March 3 , 2009

Virtual Power Outage Wrapped Into Major Snow Event: Bucks Emergency Management Agency Drills Capabilities

As Bucks County Emergency Management officials monitored dangerous winter weather conditions throughout the county yesterday, Emergency Services Director John Dougherty used the opportunity to conduct a power-outage scenario drill inside the county Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Ivyland.

Dougherty activated the EOC at 5 a.m. Monday in response to the snowstorm that moved swiftly through the region. The storm served as a realistic complement to the annual Weather Emergency Preparedness Week, which is being recognized throughout the Commonwealth March 1-7.

In the drill scenario, an ice storm disabled a large power transmitter servicing Bristol Township, Bristol Borough and Falls Township. “A large part of Bucks County has lost power due to this incident,” Dougherty told the staff contingent, which included representatives of the Fire Marshal, Training Coordinator, Hazardous Incident Response Team, Radiological and Emergency Health, and Public Information offices.

Initial concerns focused on patients at Bristol Township’s Lower Bucks Hospital and residents of multiple nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Emergency officials resolved to check each facility for its generator and continuity plans. Next, thoughts turned to the special needs population and options for reaching out to them. In Bucks County, members of the first-response community of police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians is complemented by the Major Incident Response Team (MIRT) and the Health Department’s Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).

With the drill-related power outages expected to last anywhere from one to two weeks, Dougherty encouraged creative solutions for sheltering as many as 20,000 residents. Options for mass shelter included four high schools, including Harry Truman, Pennsbury, Neshaminy and Council Rock South, as well as the Oxford Valley and Neshaminy malls. The group also discussed the possibility of mutual aid agreements with neighboring Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

“We conduct these drills in order to hone our response capabilities,” Dougherty noted. “The Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force has determined that a prolonged winter power outage is one of the greatest threats to our communities. With that in mind, we conducted today’s preparedness exercise.” For information on preparedness for you and your family, please visit www.BucksCounty.org/ReadyBucks. To sign up for emergency alerts to your cell phone or e-mail, go to www.ReadyNotifyPA.org.