Your OFD Volunteers were ready for Fern. Beginning 8am yesterday morning till mid morning today, members staffed our stations with crews ready to roll taking some of the elevated risk of responding to alarms from home and cutting down those response times. Luckily yesterday and last night was quiet for us. Standby crews responded to one request for service early this morning. It was quickly mitigated and units returned to quarters within 30 minutes. Thank you to the members that staffed our apparatus/stations.

Now that the brunt of Winter Storm Fern is over, it’s time to dig out. Let’s face it, there is a lot of snow. Putting it into the street is not the move. Clear out walkways and areas of access to your residence so in case of an emergency, services can reach you.

With the amount of snow we received, it is imperative more than ever to Help Us Help You. Those Fire Hydrants are almost covered already just with the snow fall, now plow, shovel, or push more on top of it. Every second counts, the extra few minutes it might take to dig it out might be the difference in the end result. Also, the temperatures are not going to be warming up anytime soon. If they are encased in hard snow or ice, not digging/cleaning them out will make things more difficult as the days go on.

In regards to the amount of snow fall and the temps, keep in mind the following. The large accumulation of snow will potentially block vents on your residences. Blocked vents can cause equipment/appliance failure or introduce carbon monoxide into the home. Again, Carbon Monoxide is colorless & odorless, so we know everyone checks those Smoke & CO Alarms during the month normally right? In the event of using alternative heating sources like space heaters, wood stoves, etc, use them correctly. Do not leave these unattended, keep them a safe distance from combustible objects, an inspect the units/sources pre and post use.

**Never Use a Kitchen Stove or Oven as a source of heat for your home.**

This snow is heavy, take it easy shoveling. Dress warmly, move small amounts of snow, stay hydrated, and take breaks. Check on family & friends and ensure they are ok, especially the elderly.

Stay Safe all and take it easy. On and off snow flurries will continue throughout the day. Give yourself more time to travel if needed, if you don’t have to go out just hang tight at home. Give it another day for crews to clean up this mess. A shoutout to Ossining DPW for doing their best trying to keep up with Fern.