MILLVILLE, Del. - Members of the Millville Volunteer Fire Company share their preparation and response experiences during Winter Storm Hernando.
Building on these experiences, the Millville Volunteer Fire Company and community members reflect on Winter Storm Hernando, stressing the importance of preparation.
While cleared from the roadway, the pictured tree damage is just one of many spots throughout Millville that the wet heavy snow caused.Â
While the state of Delaware issued driving restrictions across the state, volunteer firefighters, such as those at the Millville Volunteer Fire Company, had to drive in those treacherous conditions to keep the community safe.
"We saw stranded cars, we saw downed trees, trees on wires, trees all the way down across the road," Gary Caunitis shared some of the sights during responses with CoastTV.
This tree in Millville is hovering just above the roadway, alike others in the area.Â
Utility crews were seen in the Rehoboth and Dewey Beach area on Wednesday, working on power lines to help restore power in the community.
Caunitis says in some areas, they received calls to homes where the firetrucks had to be parked up to a quarter of a mile away due to road conditions.
While power lines were a point of concern during Winter Storm Hernando, the road conditions were another major factor, as the heavy snow that coated Delmarva brought many trees down onto the snow-covered roads.
The winter storm response process starts with having enough people available to respond. Caunitis said the volunteer fire company brought in a large staff as part of their preparation ahead of the storm.
"We had 23 volunteers that were at the station, some came and went. But ultimately, we managed to keep 23 people at the station the whole time in addition to the 13 staffed career members that we have here," Caunitis says.
The volunteer fire company shared that from Sunday up until Tuesday, they responded to 64 incidents.
For Marlin Van Horn, who told CoastTV he was without power for multiple days, having volunteer firefighters ready to go means a lot to the community.
"It's essential to have that kind of community," says Van Horn. "Staffing in a small town area is very important. You rely on volunteers for a lot of things."
Van Horn saying the efforts of volunteers during storms like these should not go unrecognized.
Delaware Electric Cooperative says that most of the customers who had lost power as a result of this storm have had their power restored.Â