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Recent Incidents
Wabank Rd. Rescue, 1 of 8 During Rain Storm
November 23rd, 2006, 7:16 PM
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THURSDAY NOVEMBER 16, 2006 —
LTFD was dispatched to 16 emergency calls after a rain storm began to
flood the region. 8 of the 15 calls were water rescue calls where Boat
6-6 was called to assist. The balance of the calls were 5 public
service calls (water in their basement), 2 gas leaks and 1 person
struck.
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| Firefighter John Wagner at the van, transferred a child to Ted Moyer who took the child to safety. LT. Jake Boman is pictured right. |
By Brett Lovelace
Intelligencer Journal
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Eager to beat rush-hour
traffic Thursday afternoon, Lancaster County motorists instead
encountered a different obstacle: flooding.Heavy rain swamped
several roadways in Lancaster city and surrounding townships,
precipitating a busy day for area police, firefighters and rescue crews.
But many drivers slogged on anyway.
“People were locked on,” said Lancaster City Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Oatman. “They just wanted to get home.”
The downpour began around 2 p.m. and kept rescue crews busy into the evening, officials said.
Oatman said Lancaster city firefighters rescued as many as 10 people trapped inside their vehicles on flooded streets.
“The puddles are deeper than people think,” Oatman said. “So (motorists) drive through, their car dies and they are stuck.”
On
Lititz Pike near Keller Avenue, rescue crews pulled a woman from a
vehicle immersed in water. A young girl was freed from a minivan on
Wabank Road near Rabbit Hill Lane.
Several city roads, especially those near railroad overpasses, were closed due to impassable water, Oatman said.
Lancaster
city fire Chief Tim Gregg issued a statement around 5 p.m. advising
motorists to avoid Harrisburg Pike, New Holland and Hershey avenues and
Walnut and Plum streets.
Oatman said water levels on one section of Plum Street reached vehicles’ roofs.
The
city dispatched a fire engine to park in standing water and act as a
barricade near a railroad overpass on New Holland Avenue, Oatman said.
He said a few motorists drove around the engine but stopped when they hit the water.
Routes
72 and 772 south of Manheim Borough remained closed Thursday night,
according to Randy Gockley, director of Lancaster County Emergency
Management Agency. Access to Manheim via Routes 72 and 772 could be
gained only from the direction of Mount Joy, Gockley said.
Weather-related calls occupied city police officers for several hours, according to Sgt. Richard Cosmore.
Officers responded to at least 50 calls of standing water, Cosmore said.
A
Red Rose Transit Authority bus driver was issued a citation for driving
her bus, while carrying several riders, around a barricade and into
standing water on Marietta Avenue near Steinman Mansion.
Police charged her with careless driving, saying the water level was above the bus’ headlights.
Manor Township also was hit hard by the storm, according to roadmaster Mark Harris.
The
rain caused road closures in the township — on Charlestown and Rohrer
roads and Manor Boulevard — and several small mudslides in the area.
“We
have problems with heavy rain because the Little Conestoga River runs
through our township,” Harris said. “Some banks encroached several feet
toward the roadways.”
Officials said rescue crews were finally able to start catching their breath around 8 p.m.
“At least the day started out dry,” Harris said.
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