Lakeville awaits state aid for ‘slow going’ blizzard cleanup
Lakeville first responders seen at a Tuesday morning crash between a municipal plow truck and a passenger vehicle. Photo source: Lakeville Fire Facebook
Lakeville first responders seen at a Tuesday morning crash between a municipal plow truck and a passenger vehicle. Photo source: Lakeville Fire Facebook
LAKEVILLE — Town roads are open but schools and multiple private neighborhoods continue to struggle with road access as Lakeville awaits state aid to remove about 3 feet of snow from this week’s blizzard.
On Tuesday, the town requested snow-removal personnel from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency for many inaccessible private roads and neighborhoods. Fire Chief Michael O’Brien said town roads are open but “pretty messy.”
O’Brien said the request has been granted, but doesn’t know when the help will come. Private roadways, school campuses and dangerously tall snowbanks along roads are all options for aid use, he said.
“Depending on when and if the assets arrive, we'll make a game-time decision on how to deploy them and do the most good for the most people,” O’Brien said.
He said school campuses in town — which have been closed this week — are in “really rough shape.”
Since Tuesday, the fire department has responded to three carbon monoxide incidents from improper generator ventilation. No injuries were reported, O’Brien said, and functional smoke alarms caught the problems early.
O’Brien said residents should ensure generators are far from indoor living spaces.
No major storm-related emergencies have been reported by the department, he said.
Middleboro Gas and Electric, which serves much of Lakeville, maintained services through the blizzard aside from scattered outages. O’Brien said the power staying on for most residents was a “game changer” and reduces both the dangers to residents and the burden on emergency services.
“Having people with heat, and the temperatures being relatively warm for a blizzard, really worked in our favor,” he said. “Once the temperature sinks, and once the electricity disappears, the fire danger just skyrockets.”
He said with limited town resources, residents should expect gradual improvement with roadway access in town.
“Handling the workload associated with this storm is a bit much for us,” O’Brien said. “It's slow going.”
