How'd Mamaroneck & Larchmont Fare in the Blackout of 2003?

by Judy Silberstein

When the lights went off on August 14, the Town of Mamaroneck took the opportunity to initiate its emergency operations plan, while the Village of Larchmont stuck to its standard procedure for handling power outages. How did they manage? Early reviews suggest each municipality coped relatively well during the blackout that wiped out electrical power throughout the Northeast, though there will be more detailed reviews once everyone’s back from vacation.

In Mamaroneck

The major players convened at its Emergency Operations Center, the Weaver Street Fire House, where emergency generators supplied power. Supervisor Valerie O’Keefe, Ambulance District Administrator Mike Liverzani, Fire Chief Michael Acocello, Police Lieutenant Michael Cindrich, and Highway Superintendent Marco Gennarelli manned the EOC throughout the blackout, while vacationing Town Administrator Steve Altieri monitored the situation by telephone from South Carolina.

“It was an awesome coordination of services - and so quick, said Kelly Belnick, the Basic Life Support Coordinator with the Mamaroneck Ambulance District. “It was in motion within an hour.”

“All year long we practice what we would do if disaster struck. It’s so exciting to watch everyone come together,” she said. “You never expect a real life situation to go as smoothly as a drill – but in this case, it did.”

“This is totally to the credit of the fire, EMS, police officers, the DPW and many others who came in on overtime and stayed extra hours,” said Belnick. She also credited local vendors, particularly Villa Maria, Village Pizza, and Mamaroneck Diner who brought in food for the volunteers and for the cooling center at the high school.

In the Village of Larchmont

Larchmont opted to handle the blackout without implementing the emergency plan, explained Chief Steve Rubeo who serves as the emergency coordinator. “Were it a long blackout or other disaster, the Mayor would have declared an emergency and we would have activated the emergency coordination plan.”

“We did activate all off-duty personnel,” he reported.

The Larchmont Fire Department took 38 calls – the first one from a man stuck in an elevator, reported firefighters Anthony Martyn and Bryan Doherty who worked the entire blackout from beginning to end. As always when the electricity fails, the department checked each of the elevators in the Village. There were no babies born, “But there will be,” joked the men.

Conditions on the Metro-North track proved the greatest problem – the fire department was called to rescue a group of passengers who were walking down the tracks after abandoning their stalled commuter trains but could not exit through the locked security gates. Both Larchmont and Mamaroneck assisted further down the tracks in New Rochelle where a collision injured several passengers who needed transport to area hospitals. In addition, over 25 out of-towners stranded at Mamaroneck and Larchmont stations were transported to the local “cooling center” – aka as Mamaroneck High School - which is also the designated emergency evacuation center for hurricanes, flooding and other disasters that require people to leave their homes.

“We were inundated with calls,” said Chief Rubeo. The police officers worked sixteen-hour shifts with only eight hours off. A number of the volunteer firefighters camped out at Village Hall so they could respond immediately to calls, and the Department of Public Works labored around the clock to keep the sewer pumping stations operational.

“(DPW General Foreman) Joe Bedard was out there the whole time. Of course he’s always there,” said Chief Rubeo.

Village Trustee Anne McAndrews noted, “With the exception of a few accidents, it was pretty quiet on Larchmont streets.” Police and traffic enforcement personnel were deployed around the Village to set up cones and direct cars at intersections where the traffic lights were out.

Trustee Liz Feld also noticed it was very orderly and she’s received feedback from a number of residents commenting on how police traffic control and red flares were excellent.

“We had all hands on deck,” said Chief Rubeo. “All the public service workers did an outstanding job.”

The work didn’t end when the lights came on the next day. The most serious fire call came right as the lights returned and a surge in electrical power caused a fire at St. Augustine’s Church. The fire was contained quickly, however, and damage was confined to an area behind the altar.

To help with the mop up, the Joint Sanitation Commission initiated a special weekend garbage pickup for the commercial areas and left open the Maxwell Avenue transfer station so residents could bring in spoiled food. “We processed close to 20 tons of garbage on Saturday and Sunday morning,” reported Town Supervisor Altieri.

Some Flaws

A known flaw in the emergency plans – the inability of air raid horns to reach all corners of the Town – did not hinder operations in this particular emergency. The emergency committee will be looking into better solutions.

“If we had had to communicate with the residents,” said Altieri, “we would probably have used the public address systems in the patrol cars.”

“One thing that needs further work is the shelter – the “cooling center” at MHS,” said Supervisor O’Keeffe. “It wasn’t very cool and the access was not good,” she commented.

Overall, though, feedback was positive. “It was a good shakedown,” concluded Altieri.

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