HOLBROOK — Director Steve Hooke of the Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center would like to take this opportunity to commend the staff of the HRECC for their efforts during the recent flooding incident that took place at Norwood Hospital.
On Sunday, June 28 at approximately 7:30 p.m., Norwood Hospital began evacuating patients due to heavy rain that caused flooding in the hospital’s basement, resulting in an electrical issue on the premises and a loss of power.
HRECC staff coordinated the response of more than 30 in-county and out-of-county ambulances, strike teams, task forces and various resources in the immediate aftermath of the flooding. Telecommunicators dispatched ambulances from HRECC partner agencies as well as assisted in coordinating the response of other agencies based on pre-incident planning.
Staff not only dispatched an initial response, but managed where resources were directed during the ongoing response. This included the use of tents and lighting on scene and the utilization of four mutual-aid radio channels that were operational during the response.
The response to the Norwood Hospital incident came at the same time that HRECC telecommunicators were responding to a high volume of storm-related calls from residents throughout the Center’s coverage area.
“Our telecommunicators did a fantastic job assisting in the response to the Norwood Hospital incident while also meeting the needs of the residents throughout our coverage area during Sunday’s storms,” Director Hooke said. “Time is of the essence during an emergency such as this, and we were glad to be able to assist in the coordinated response along with so many agencies and departments.”
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