During the blizzard yesterday, a lot of motorists became stuck in their vehicles in Frederick County, Maryland and that’s where they ended up spending the night. It looked like that was going to be the case for seven members of the Carroll Manor Fire Company. They got bogged down with their ladder truck and utility truck on Oland Road yesterday.
WUSA9.com’s Scott Broom followed their story as he traveled the roads of the county. It was just not the fire equipment that became stuck. A snowplow and front-end loader also couldn’t beat the 12-foot snow drifts.
As the drama unfolded, Scott talked with the new director of the Frederick County Division of Fire & Rescue Services , Tom Owens. Owens said a decision was made that they weren’t getting the truck out Wednesday night and the focus was getting the firefighters home and out of the cold. That was easier said then done. The one vehicle they could rely on to make it through was a snowmobile, which is how many of the firefighters got back to the warmth of the firehouse after seven hours in the blizzard.
The Carroll Manor Fire Company posted the picture below on its website.
Also on STATter911 …
- Raw video: Afternoon house fire in Darien, New York. News report of car running road block & hitting tanker. – January 4, 2011
- Potomac River rescue: Cable snaps on White’s Ferry. Firefighters bring 14 people to safety. – December 3, 2010
- Early video: Commercial structure fire in Robbinsville, New Jersey. – May 19, 2011
- Blizzard 2011: Chicago firefighter punched. CFD snowmobile in action. Plus more stuck rigs. – February 3, 2011
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I am a volunteer firefighter in Wyoming, and my regular job is with Wyoming DOT. I usually log plenty of hours every winter in a snowplow, but this winter we are having it unusually mild, while the eastern states are taking a beating. I’m here to tell you, 12-foot drifts can best be conquered by two machines…a rotary snowplow (snowblower) and/or a BIG front end loader. Very few motor graders are equipped to handle something so deep. I sympathize with all you folks dealing with these storms. Just hang tight…summer will be here before too long, and we’ll all be whining about how hot it is. LOL! Best of luck.
We tried to get a quarry loader to no avail. An issue was trying to mobilize the appropriate resources on such short notice since the blizzard warning seemed to arrive with the blizzard and deep drifts developed really quickly. They only called for ten inches of snow but it was double that. The county finally got hold of Idaho rotary blowers from the western part of the state which does get higher amounts of snow. It took two days but all the equipment referenced here was freed. The farmers in the area also came to the aid of everyone (law enforcement, first responders, and civilians) stuck in the drifts.