Town officials report minimal imact from Sandy

A tree fell on a parked car on Maple Street during Monday’s storm. (Courtesy of the Canton Fire Dept.)

All things considered, Canton fared well in the recent superstorm known as Hurricane Sandy and incurred minimal damage compared to other Bay State communities and points south such as New York City and Atlantic City.

As of early Tuesday morning, approximately 800 homes were without power in the area around Standish Drive, certain pockets of York Street, portions of the Washington Street corridor from Town Hall to Dedham Street, and Dedham Street to the Westwood town border.

The storm produced one injury in Canton — an unidentified woman whose car hit a telephone pole at the intersection of Washington and Sherman streets late Monday night. Fire Chief Charlie Doody said she was transported to Norwood Hospital and was in stable condition as of Tuesday morning.

A tree fell on a parked car on Maple Street, and two trees fell into homes on Washington Street and Fairview Road, causing minor structural damage. Doody estimated that there were 12 to 15 fallen trees that impacted power.

Canton Public Schools were closed Monday following the advice of Governor Deval Patrick, who had declared a state of emergency and urged residents to remain at home. Superintendent Jeff Granatino also closed the schools on Tuesday due to power outages that impacted the Kennedy School and Canton High School.

The only road blocked as of early Tuesday morning was Standish Drive in the Algonquin section of town; however, the road was later made passable, reported DPW Superintendent Mike Trotta. York Street at York Brook Road was also closed for a few hours Monday night but was open by Tuesday morning.

Doody said the Fire Department received a total of 50 calls between 8 a.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday. The town received two to three inches of rain, with sustained wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour. A gust of 80 mph was recorded at the Blue Hills Observatory.

Doody and Canton resident Frank LaBollita, the town’s civil defense director, led the Emergency Operations Centers (EOC), one at fire headquarters on Revere Street and one at the police station to field 911 calls.

Doody and LaBollita were in constant contact with the Mass. Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). Representatives from the police, fire, and public works departments manned the 911 calls at the police station all day Monday from 8 a.m. to midnight.

Doody said communication with NStar was much better than it was during Tropical Storm Irene last fall. This time, there was one NStar representative assigned to Canton during the storm who remained in contact with Doody. NStar also sent a “chase car” to check on downed wires, and crews were on the job after midnight.

Doody said the response of all town departments was excellent. “All the calls that came in were handled well,” he said. “All in all, it was as good as could be expected.”

“Great communication between the departments made for a well-oiled machine,” added Deputy Police Chief Helena Findlen. “The EOC made quite a difference.”

Trotta said Sandy “wasn’t bad” compared to Irene. Thirty-four DPW employees worked around the clock on Monday, and by Tuesday they were concentrating efforts on cleaning catch basins blocked by leaves and clearing tree limbs off major roads.

Trotta reported no major problems at the Canton water supply station, which was powered by generators for a short time until full power was restored. Trotta and Town Administrator Bill Friel said the DPW would continue to provide tree and debris removal services as needed. Trotta said a major town cleanup beginning from the Stoughton border to the western part of Canton will begin this week to remove storm debris. The leaf and yard waste facility is open for free for resident debris drop-off and trash removal is running on a normal schedule.

Trotta said the Washington Street sidewalk and road paving project, which made “good progress” last week, will be delayed several days because of the storm. He is hoping that final paving will be done by late next week on Washington Street between Adrienne Drive and St. Gerard’s Church.

Friel said Canton “fared very well with our emergency response plan successfully utilized before and during the storm.” He said the effort was led by Doody, who is also the town’s emergency management director, as well as LaBollita. “The town is fortunate to have engaged elected officials and qualified professionals leading the various municipal departments during an event such as this,” said Friel. “All were actively involved in the town’s preparation, response, and now in any restoration efforts.”

He said the Board of Selectmen, led by Chairman Bob Burr, was involved throughout the storm preparation and during the actual event — especially when high level decision making was required, including declaring a state of emergency consistent with state action.

Friel said the selectmen played a key role by relaying important “on the ground” information from their respective neighborhoods, sharing input from residents, and issuing directives when needed, including a reverse 911 notification to residents.

Burr thanked the EOC and all municipal departments who worked during the storm for an excellent job and credited NStar for doing a better job in response and communication than in the past. “All departments did an exceptional job communicating and working around the clock,” he said. “Thankfully the storm damage to the town was minimal.”

Share This Post

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=17079