Rescuers were ready for floods

Coventry Volunteer Fire Association Lt. Michael Cote displays a thermal blanket used to help a man suffering from hypothermia after his car became stuck in several feet of water on Flanders River Road in Coventry Monday morning. Photo by Mike Savino

With winter snow turning into rag­ing floods Monday, local emergency responders were on high alert.

But not only were they on alert, they were also ready.

While most of us were shoveling the white stuff that had dominated the local weather scene since Christmas, emergency personnel were prepping for a major melt they knew would keep them busy.

Coventry Volunteer Fire Associa­tion Chief Joe Carilli said people need to use “common sense” when they approach flooded roads.

Mansfield Fire Marshal John Jack­man said individuals should “proceed with caution” and not cross the road if there is any standing water.

“Even if there’s one inch of rain, the force can sweep cars up the road,” Jackman said.

Carilli and Willimantic Acting Fire Chief Marc Scrivener advised people to obey road closure signs.

At least two drivers in Coventry got stuck Monday because they failed to do so.

In one incident, a male driver got stuck in a Jeep SUV on Flanders River Road Monday morning.

“People go under or around cones, putting themselves and rescuers at risk,” Carilli said.

This driver, Carilli said, tried to escape the water and in doing so, got hypothermia. CVFA firefighters brought him to Windham Hospital. Another SUV driver, a woman, did the same thing later that afternoon.

The CVFA responded to both of these incidents with firefighters trained as members of the Tolland County Dive Team.

The dive unit is a group of 75 mem­bers from 22 fire departments in and around Tolland County.

Locally, this includes Andover, Ash­ford, Chaplin, Coventry, Mansfield and Columbia.

The unit is a water-rescue team that trains for emergency situations, including swift-water, freshwater and ice rescue.

The team uses numerous tools for rescue efforts, including scuba gear, wet suits, life jackets, fins and ropes. Tolland County Assistant Dive Commander Norman Meikle said he contacted Coventry Police Chief Mark Palmer this morning about put­ting the department’s watercraft on standby this week for flood inci­dents.

They also have a signal system that is employed under certain cir­cumstances, so dive members can communicate with one another. In some cases, however, dive members can com­municate normally. Meikle, a Mansfield volunteer fire­fighter, said the unit has been on standby since the possibility of a huge rainstorm two weeks ago.

“We’re trying to be more proactive than reactive on those (flooding) issues,” Meikle said.

Meikle, also a Coventry Police De­partment marine officer, said the team was activated Friday in response to the impending storms over the weekend.

The dive team noticed Sunday the Eagleville Dam had risen “4 feet, if not” more since Friday, Meikle said.

The dive team has responded to numer­ous incidents in the area, including a 2005 incident at Diana’s Pool in Chaplin, an illegal local swimming hole.

In this incident, a truck got stuck in floodwaters.

Dive team members said this incident prompted them to step up their swift-­water training efforts. The team now conducts drills every month on various rescue techniques.

Meikle said six or seven dive team members were ready to be deployed at Route 66 in Columbia, where two cars got stuck Monday.

Members receive basic white-water rescue training at their departments, but they also conduct more extensive train­ing in Massachusetts at Zoar Outdoor.

A swift-water drill has been scheduled for Wednesday night at the Coventry Volunteer Fire Association on Main Street across from town hall.

Dive team members, like other fire­fighters in the area, had words of wis­dom for residents.

Tolland County Dive Commander John Roache advised residents to have respect for the water and what it “can and can’t do.”

Tolland County Deputy Dive Com­mander Mark Dittrich added people should “never ever drive through water.” “It’s hard for people to gauge the depth of the water,” Roache said.

Posted 3-8-2011

Heavy rain, melting snow create havoc

Flanders River Road in Coventry was a major hot spot for flood­related emergencies. Here, a woman calls for help from her sport utility vehicle while stranded in the floodwaters. Contributed photo by Pat Calvo

The historic snow from the last two months continues to cause problems for area motorists and homeowners – this time in the form of flooding rivers and streams.

Numerous roadways were closed for at least part of the day Monday (March 7) due to flooding and some remained closed this morning when water turned to ice overnight.

But some drivers ignored warn­ing signs and tried to make it across flooded roadways, keeping public safety officials and tow-truck driv­ers busy.

“We urge people not do drive through (closed roads) because it could cost them their lives,” Coventry Volunteer Fire Association Chief Joe Carilli said, shortly after the depart­ment removed the first of two cars stuck on Flanders River Road in town.

AccuWeather Meteorologist Tom Kine said Windham Airport received about 1.5 inches of rain by the time the storm ended Monday.

He also said rainfall totals “dropped off pretty quickly” in the eastern part of the state, with Hartford receiving between 3.5 and 4 inches of rain.

But the rainfall also helped to quickly melt much the snow still remaining from one of the worst winters in state history, leading to tremendous amounts of water flow­ing toward rivers, lakes, streams and drainage basins.

Kines said Hartford has had 86.8 inches of snow this winter, the fourth highest total in Connecticut history.

But he also said flooding issues start well upstream and noted north­ern New England will likely have more trouble because of its snowfall totals, something that could impact the Connecticut River Valley.

Coventry Public Works Director Tim Webb noted the Willimantic River receives water from sources as far north as central Massachusetts before merging with the Hop River in Coventry.

Route 66 near the intersection of Route 6 in Columbia was closed Monday due to flooding over the road. Photo by Roxanne Pandolfi

“It picks up and picks up and picks up” until it “all comes together” with the Hop River, Webb said of the Willimantic River.

He said Flanders River Road remained closed due to flooding this morning and a portion of Parker Bridge Road still had water over a portion of the road near the Columbia town line.

Other areas also had flooding problems Monday, but the roads were re-opened before today.

Columbia also had roads closed due to flooding, and the eastern por­tion of Route 66 and Flanders Road were closed until this morning.

Carilli said the CVFA received a number of calls for help after cars were stuck in flooded roadways, beginning with one at 3 a.m. Monday on Parker Bridge Road, although no one was in it at the time.

But on two separate occasions, late in the morning Monday and then again in the afternoon, the CVFA had to help drivers who were stuck on Flanders River Road.

The town had placed “Road Closed” and other warning signs up, but Carilli said both drivers ignored the signs and tried to move through several feet of water.

The drivers of both vehicles, as well as a passenger in the second instance, were taken to Windham Community Memorial Hospital after showing symptoms of hypothermia.

Webb said water can be deeper and moves faster than it appears and can cause a car to either move or stall easily.

“It doesn’t take much to move a car,” he said. “Once it’s floating, it’s floating.”

Carilli added water can make roadways weaker, especially along the edge.

A swan swims by after a Jeep is caught in the water on Flanders River Road. Photo by Roxanne Pandolfi

Willimantic Fire Chief Marc Scrivener said Willimantic, meanwhile, had to use a kayak to rescue a man stuck on Pleasant Street Monday evening, but the man did not need medical attention.

Despite the Pleasant Street incident and some flooding near the Main Street/Route 66 intersection, Town Manager Neal Beets said the town had no serious problems.

But, he said, the town will continue to monitor areas near waterways, especially with more rain the forecast for later in the week.

Kines said there is another weather system “to be concerned about” later this week, with potentially heavy rains Thursday night and Friday morning.

“I think we have to at least worry about heavy rains again,” he said.

Kines also said temperatures will drop below freezing again tonight, leading to flood water freezing, but will remain above freezing for the rest of the week.

He also said the weather patterns for the foreseeable future do not show any “prolonged” dry periods, meaning flooding could again be a concern.

Posted 3-8-2011