January 25th was no ordinary day for Willingboro Firefighters. During the C Platoon's 24 hour shift the crew responded to 16 calls for service. Many of the calls were due to heavy winds and rain that was over the area during the day. Ten of the department's calls for service were related to problems with downed or arching power lines.
The major incident of the day occured on Route 130 in the area of the Willingboro Town Center. A pole holding power lines broke at the base, causing the wires to hang low over Route 130 North and Southbound. All Northbound lanes of Route 130 and two Southbound lanes had to be closed from 10:30 am until 7:30 pm. Fire Police units from Willingboro and numerous out of town departments were used to redirect traffic through the area while repairs were made by Public Service Electric.
The crew also handled incidents will into the early morning hours of January 26th. In addition to the incident involving power lines, the department responded to one motor vehicle accident, one trash fire, two activated fire alarms, and two reported house fires, both of which caused no damage.
Units:
Engines 1611 and 1613, Ladder 1615, and Fire Police 1618
