By Beth David, Editor
Fairhaven Town Administrator, Keith Hickey, addressed the Select Board and other town officials at the SB meeting on 3/9/26, to provide a review of the town’s response to Winter Storm Hernando, the blizzard that struck on Sunday, 2/22 and continued though Monday, dumping more than 30 inches of snow in Fairhaven.
Mr. Hickey said that public works, fire, police, schools, and other town employees all worked together to respond to the storm. The Hastings Middle School was opened as a shelter. They met by phone at least twice a day. The town added personnel and equipment to respond to the storm.
At the height of the storm, the lack of visibility made it too dangerous for plows to be out on the road. They were pulled back for about five hours on Monday, he said. After they got back, plows worked around the clock until every single street had at least one plowed lane.
Mr. Hickey stressed that the storm was extraordinary. A few weeks before, the town had about 14 inches of snow, and the Board of Public Works addressed that storm without any additional assistance. For the blizzard, though, the town got people and equipment from communities across the state and from local private companies.
Fairhaven utilized 28 additional pieces of equipment for snow removal.
Mr. Hickey also addressed the two pieces of equipment that failed and needed to be repaired. He said both were back in service before the end of the cleanup. The loader had a radiator issue; the grader had an electrical issue.
During the storm, fire and police continued taking emergency calls. Fire answered 136 emergency calls, including two structure fires. The police answered 350 calls, that also included welfare checks.
Fifteen people were transported to the shelter, which was staffed around the clock, and others got there on their own.
At one point, two-thirds of Fairhaven was without power. There were over 12 trees and large limbs blocking roads, that required the public works department to divert from plowing to address those. He said public works had to leave plow routes to lead Eversource to downed wires. Plow drivers also had to support police and fire in responding to emergencies when their vehicles could not reach people.
Mr. Hickey said the town hall generator did not automatically go on as it should have. He commended he police chief for “trudging through two feet of snow” to help get it started.
The generator switch is “dated,” he said and he will review its reliability for the future. Without power at town hall, the phone network does not work. He will look into getting grant money to replace it.
Mr. Hickey also said that the BPW ran short on road salt because of a statewide shortage. He credited harbormaster, Tim Cox, with using personal connections to get some to the town. The BPW had to mix the salt with sand to stretch it out a bit.
Looking back, he said, there is always room for improvement.
He urged members of the public to sign up for the alerts which updated people after every meeting of the department heads.
He said it was an “extraordinary” storm.
“I know it was frustrating,” he said, for people who did not see the work going on behind he scenes. “People went above and beyond.”
Mr. Hickey said it was a team effort to get roads cleared for people to get to doctor appointments. He said he was confident no other community responded better than Fairhaven.
“It was very impressive to see,” he said.
Mr. Hickey said no town is ready for 30 inches of snow and it would be fiscally irresponsible to be staffed up to that level all the time.
Mr. Hickey thanked the residents for who had to deal with a lot of challenges, liked missed appointments.
Vincent Manfredi addressed the board, saying he was not complaining, but had an observation. He said sidewalks and corners near Hastings Middle School were not clear, forcing students to walk in the street. He said most homeowners cleared sidewalks, u the condo complex did not.
He also noted that there was some confusion as to who is responsible for the overpass sidewalks, the town or the state.
Bob Pink also addressed the board, saying he wanted to commend the public safety officials, not only for their effort, but for their “prudence.”
He said they had to make some “hard decisions” on behalf of employees, such as pulling the trucks off the road.
“I happened to be in the middle of it, unfortunately,” said Mr. Pink, but added he saw them go “all out” to maintain access to buildings.
“I commend them 100 percent,” said Mr. Pink.
SB member, Natalie Mello said friend of hers took advantage of the shelter, and “had nothing but positive things to say.”
She said his apartment had no heat, he is in his late 80s and does not drive. They picked him up and he got three hot meals. He was very comfortable.
SB member Keith Silvia said he reached out the public works six times for emergencies and they “did it every time.”
He said everyone was positive, and we will do better going forward.
SB chairperson, Charlie Murphy, said he heard a lot about neighbors helping neighbors, clearing out fire hydrants, helping seniors who were stuck indoors.
“That’s what Fairhaven is all about,” said Mr. Murphy.
He said he did talk to highway superintendent Josh Crabb, he was on just a few hours of sleep.
“They worked round the clock,” sad Mr. Murphy, adding the town is “very blessed” to have this type of personnel who care about the safety of residents. “We have exceptional staff here and we’re very lucky.”
SB Vice Chair, Andrew Romano, who was in the hospital out of state due to a car accident, said he had nothing better to do than look at Facebook. He was delayed getting out to go home because of the storm. When he got back, he said he thought they were “being pranked” because of how clear the roads were.
He said he as impressed, and thanked staff.
To sign up for alerts that you can get by phone, text, and email (smart911), visit the town’s website at https://fairhaven-ma.gov or https://tinyurl.com/4nr3nfmn
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Click here to download the 3/12/26 issue: 03-12-26 SnowEater
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