On Saturday, August 27th, 2011 Hurricane Irene made its way up the East Coast leaving severe flooding, wind damage, and millions without power.

In preparation for the storm, the Westwood Fire Company placed a Hurricane Action Plan in place. This was in coordination with Valley Township's Emergency Management Coordinator Joe Sciandra.

Volunteer crews were assigned shifts at Westwood throughout the 24 hour period to ensure timely responses if emergency services were needed during the storm. The crews stayed on station from Saturday morning at 0800 until Sunday afternoon at 1500.

The second ambulance, which is now stationed at Wagontown Fire Company, was staffed with 24 hour paid staff as usual.

During the storm, the Fire Company responded to more than a dozen emergencies that were dispatched by Chester County 911 and several others that were handled by our in house Command and the Emergency Management Command at the Valley Township Building.

The Emergency Management Command Post was established at 1000 Saturday morning and is still currently in operation. The Command was handling non-emergency calls to the Township, monitoring the storm, power outages, and water levels hourly.

Ambulance 144 stationed at the Wagontown Fire Company handled 7 medical emergencies during the storm.

A special thanks goes to our volunteers who gave up several hours to stay at the station to assure the residents of Valley Township and East Fallowfield Township received prompt service if needed. While we ensure responses are timely 365 days a year, we wanted to ensure there were no delays due to unexpected road closures. Also, thanks goes to those who volunteered to assist with the Emergency Management Services at the Valley Township Building.

Job well done by all.