Brian Martens, Fire Chief
LAST WEEK
Dick Griffith was our only guest last week as he was here for his club’s peach sales. President Susan Van Deren announced that we now have a new post office box here in Windsor. It is Number 23. Susan also said she would be visiting the clubs that have donated to the tornado relief effort to personally thank them for their assistance.
PROGRAM
The program for the day was presented by Chief Brian Martens of the Windsor- Severance Fire Protection District. Brian showed a video of the tornado of May 22 and its aftermath. He said that Mike Nelson of Channel 7 in Denver told him the storm had wind speeds of up to 165 and was up to ¾ mile wide.
Assessments after the storm showed that there were 102 homes rendered uninhabitable. 154 homes required some repair and 340 showed no structural damage. These were designated with red, yellow and green markings or signs respectively. The immediate storm response was handled from the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the basement of the Fire Station. Martens said that in spite of what the storm did to the community, we got lucky. The time of day and the fact that it was the last day of school meant that many children were still inside and protected when the storm hit. Martens said it was also unusual that there were no fires as many of the trees that were uprooted broke gas lines when they fell. There was a police commander training program in town at the time and the participants were enjoying a round of golf at Pelican Lakes when the storm hit.
Martens credits Terry Walker for having everything in place on computers in the EOC.
Some of the things that went occurred included;
800 MHz radio system went down. Emergency responders had to use Simplex (car to car) system.
75 police officers responded within 45 minutes; many from surrounding communities.
Two fire chiefs arrived within hours
National Guard was here the first day.
A “Level 3” Team from Jefferson County was sent in.
Other issues that need to be addressed included portable power for street lights, need for a utility rep in the EOC, and power for a common fueling station.. Martens still gets emotional when he talks about the storm and the amazing response that the citizens of Windsor showed.
QUIZ: Answer to last week’s question: Dalton Trumbo was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for “Johnny Got His Gun”. Next question: A Pepperdine graduate and coach is the model for the bronze Olympic torso that stands in front of the Los Angeles Coliseum unveiled prior to the opening of the 1984 Summer Games. Who is this person?
Dick Griffith was our only guest last week as he was here for his club’s peach sales. President Susan Van Deren announced that we now have a new post office box here in Windsor. It is Number 23. Susan also said she would be visiting the clubs that have donated to the tornado relief effort to personally thank them for their assistance.
PROGRAM
The program for the day was presented by Chief Brian Martens of the Windsor- Severance Fire Protection District. Brian showed a video of the tornado of May 22 and its aftermath. He said that Mike Nelson of Channel 7 in Denver told him the storm had wind speeds of up to 165 and was up to ¾ mile wide.
Assessments after the storm showed that there were 102 homes rendered uninhabitable. 154 homes required some repair and 340 showed no structural damage. These were designated with red, yellow and green markings or signs respectively. The immediate storm response was handled from the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the basement of the Fire Station. Martens said that in spite of what the storm did to the community, we got lucky. The time of day and the fact that it was the last day of school meant that many children were still inside and protected when the storm hit. Martens said it was also unusual that there were no fires as many of the trees that were uprooted broke gas lines when they fell. There was a police commander training program in town at the time and the participants were enjoying a round of golf at Pelican Lakes when the storm hit.
Martens credits Terry Walker for having everything in place on computers in the EOC.
Some of the things that went occurred included;
800 MHz radio system went down. Emergency responders had to use Simplex (car to car) system.
75 police officers responded within 45 minutes; many from surrounding communities.
Two fire chiefs arrived within hours
National Guard was here the first day.
A “Level 3” Team from Jefferson County was sent in.
Other issues that need to be addressed included portable power for street lights, need for a utility rep in the EOC, and power for a common fueling station.. Martens still gets emotional when he talks about the storm and the amazing response that the citizens of Windsor showed.
QUIZ: Answer to last week’s question: Dalton Trumbo was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for “Johnny Got His Gun”. Next question: A Pepperdine graduate and coach is the model for the bronze Olympic torso that stands in front of the Los Angeles Coliseum unveiled prior to the opening of the 1984 Summer Games. Who is this person?
posted by Windsor Rotary Club (link to this post)
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