Severe Storms Keep Willingboro Firefighters Busy

The evening of March 8th proved to be busier than normal for the Willingboro Fire Department. Severe storms came through a large portion of Burlington County creating a host of problems in Willingboro and many surrounding communities. Winds of over 40 mph and heavy rain from throughout the day caused many trees to fall.

The department's B Platoon started answering calls at 6:11 pm. The crew responded to several neighborhoods to answer calls for downed wires and trees that had fallen into homes. Chief of Department Burnett was at Fire Headquarters getting a list of incidents from the county's communications center. This allowed the chief to keep track of all the incidents in town and to assign them to the crew based on the priority of the incident.

The crew of Engine 1613 stayed busy until clearing their last assignment at 10:31 pm. The crew responded to 20 incidents during the evening. No firefighters or civilians were injured at any of the incidents. Several homes did receive damage due to being struck by falling trees. Westampton Fire Department did assist by answering 2 calls in Willingboro while the crew of Engine 1613 was committed to other incidents.