We have had two improvements in Andover this summer that will make dealing with bad weather and other emergencies less stressful. The first is the road construction just east of the Andover village. The larger culverts and raised roadbed will greatly limit the chance of road flooding in that area.
In the past, water over the road during high rain storms has forced us to close the road. Dividing the town in bad weather puts a great strain on limited resources like our ambulance and fire trucks as well as the Police Department and the Road Agent. This has been an emergency planning challenge for some time now, and this summer’s long-term solution is a good step forward for safety in our town.
Generator for the Town Hall
The second improvement is the installation of a backup generator to supply electricity to the Town Hall during a power outage. Thank you to the townspeople of Andover for authorizing the funds and to Lloyd Perrault for handling the installation.
Upon loss of utility power, the generator will automatically start and produce electricity. The Town Hall is the location of emergency operations for the town of Andover during a town-wide or serious localized emergency. Radios for police and fire and the telephone system located at the Town Office require power to operate.
We have activated our Emergency Operation Center (EOC) for flooding, hurricanes, and town-wide loss of power in the winter. The concept of an EOC is to bring emergency and public safety managers to one location. Then, as the incident unfolds, the proper resources are placed in order of life-safety priority.
The Andover Emergency Management Director is in direct contact with the State EOC in Concord and many of the other EOCs in cities and towns around the state. As you can imagine, the lower level at the Town Hall becomes a very busy place. Having our EOC at one of the fire stations would be distracting for the emergency managers and tough for the fire people to carry out their tasks.
Communications to and from the Town Hall is essential for public safety operations and is impossible without a reliable supply of electricity. To all those in Andover who supported the funds, and to Lloyd for engineering the installation of the generator, thank you again. As emergency managers, we will continue to plan and train for the next big event.
Get Your Heat Source Serviced!
It is getting a little cooler outside. It’s time to have your heating appliance serviced for the upcoming winter season. Proper burner maintenance is essential to safe operation and is the best way to squeeze every ounce of heat from your expensive fuel.
Don’t forget that the chimney needs cleaning, too. Bad things happen when the furnace or the chimney is not serviced, and most of them require your fire department to resolve. Though we work for free, the nature of our task often makes a burner maintenance or chimney cleaning bill a much better bargain.