Middletown Emergency Workers Aid Groton's Storm Sandy Relief

UPDATE

Angel Fernandez, deputy director of emergency services in Middletown, updated the City of Middletown CT Office of Emergency Management Facebook page.

Sunday morning
"We finish tomorrow with groton and then go back on the Stand By list for whatever the region needs for support. Myself and the chief are proud to help our friends in Groton. They treated us like family and CERT also. They were beat and tired and we the calvary showed up — they were so happy that they were able to go to their family and start the process of recovery to their homes and community."

Saturday evening

"We are currently at Groton and the guys are holding out well. They helped with the point of distribution and FEMA Disaster Relief Center. We have members from [Community Emergency Response Team] with us. We are currently operating 24 hours as of now. We are happy working with the Town of Groton and the residents are awesome."

Groton Senior Center, 102 Newtown Road, is open Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It is among five FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers opened in New Haven, Old Saybrook, Groton, Bridgeport and Greenwich.

“The opening of these centers represents one more step forward in the effort to get our residents' lives back to normal as quickly as possible,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said. “Any individuals or businesses who have suffered losses or damages as a result of Storm Sandy should visit a center and work with the staff there to review the benefits they are entitled to.”

Original version

Personnel from the Middletown Department of Emergency Management and Community Emergency Response Team have been requested by the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services & Public Protection Division of Emergency Management & Homeland Security to assist the Town of Groton with Storm Sandy relief efforts.

Middletown’s crews were requested by Groton Emergency Management officials, according to town officials.

“With the anticipation of extending our operations at our multi-jurisdictional shelter throughout the weekend, we have exhausted our volunteers. Bottom line, they need a break to re-energize and to take care of their own home situations as they have been going non-stop since setting up our first shelter before the storm," Groton officials said.

"We are specifically requesting Middletown ... as we have trained together in the past and our EM personnel have worked closely with theirs over the past year or two.”

Joseph Sastre, Groton’s director of emergency management, said it could take a long time for some homeowners to recover from Hurricane Sandy, depending on the damage that was done, according to an article in Groton Patch.

“Some people’s houses are screwed up because the water got in, their walls are soaked, their insulation is soaked ... if they have furnaces in the basement, their furnaces are shot.”

“I’m sure there are houses out there with structural issues along the shoreline. It really comes down to what your issue is. ... Water can do a number on a house. It can make a house uninhabitable forever or without extensive repairs,” Sastre told Patch.

Middletown's Emergency Management Director Bruce Driska indicated that the deployment team will leave the city at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday and will be in Groton for several days providing logistical support and shelter management.