Henrico first responders take over 500 emergency calls after winter storm
VENN
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Henrico County's first responders answered hundreds of calls for service on Wednesday as Central Virginia dealt with the impacts of Tuesday's winter storm.
Central Virginia was hit with snow, sleet and freezing rain starting the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 11. The winter storm downed trees and caused power outages throughout the region.
From midnight to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, firefighters with Henrico County's Division of Fire and officers with the Henrico County Police Division responded to over 500 calls combined, according to county officials.
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This included calls about downed power lines, traffic light outages, crashes, fallen trees and more.
Officers answered 110 calls about crashes and 243 about utility problems, according to officials. Firefighters responded to four calls about fallen trees into homes and nearly 100 calls about electrical hazards.
As multiple traffic lights remain out, police would like to remind drivers that they are to treat any intersection with a non-functioning traffic light as a four-way stop.
Though no significant injuries related to this wintry weather have been reported, fire officials would like to remind the public about the dangers of downed power lines.
“We can’t overstate that you should never approach a downed line,” said Henrico Fire Chief Jackson Baynard in a press release. “It’s best to always assume downed wires are hot wires."
If you see a downed power line, call 911 or reach out to Dominion Energy at 1-866-366-4357 immediately.
