As Hurricane Sandy Hit its peak, Nyack Volunteer Firefighters Kept Working

Although the Nyack-area is still reeling from damage and power outages from Hurricane Sandy, Nyack's volunteer firefighters have finally had a chance to stop and tally up the efforts that we needed to battle the storm.

On the Monday of the storm, from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. the following day, members of the Nyack Fire Department answered 40 emergency calls including:

- Automatic alarms

- Building evacuations along the riverfront

-Trees fallen on houses

- Downed wires

- Flooding calls

- Loose boats drifting down the Hudson River

- Rescuing a person trapped in their unit at the Clermont condos as waves poured into the window.

Nyack volunteers were on continuous standby from 8 p.m. Monday to 8 a.m. Tuesday. Nyack Fire Chief James Petriello said that at the height of the storm some agencies and utilities pulled their personnel from the streets, but Nyack volunteers continued to respond to emergency calls as needed.

As the storm faded, Petriello said Nyack volunteers went to Piermont to assist firefighters there cope with flooding and storm damage. Additionally, Nyack firefighters pumped out buildings and homes that were flooded and assisted with damage assessments.