MONROE, CT — Flash floods washed away roads in the region last summer, damaging property and causing fatalities in Oxford and Weston. In Monroe, aside from dealing with extensive property damage, first responders helped lead a wedding party of about 150 people to safety at The Waterview and public works crews busily repaired crumbling roads to open everything in time for the first day of school.
On Monday, Aug. 18, the one year anniversary of the flood, First Selectman Terry Rooney invited emergency responders from Monroe and other towns, state legislators, public works employees and other town officials to an appreciation ceremony at the Monroe firehouse on Shelton Road.
“I gotta really try hard not to get choked up about this, because this incident was like something I haven’t personally seen,” Rooney said from the podium inside the station’s open bays. “I felt that on the anniversary of that flood it was very important to recognize all of you that really went above and beyond that day for the town.”
The first selectman also thanked Bridgeport, Long Hill and Norwalk firefighters attending the dinner, which was prepared by Carl Anthony Catering and included a pizza oven and a menu of pies, chicken wings and salads. The food was paid for by the First Selectman Rooney Foundation.
“Without their assistance, we may have been in a very different situation,” Rooney said of responders from other towns. “They brought so much equipment to assist in possible rescues. One thing we should be extremely happy about, we had no fatalities and no injuries during that event. Other communities weren’t as fortunate. There was loss of life during this event and that’s very sad.”
Monroe Fire Chief Kevin Catalano recalled how Norwalk firefighters brought in high water rescue trucks and specialized equipment, how both Norwalk and Bridgeport fire companies brought boats to town for any rescues along Lake Zoar, and Long Hill firefighters in Trumbull helped operate the town-wide fire command center.
Last Aug. 18, town firefighters responded to about a month’s worth of calls in one afternoon, according to Catalano.
“It’s a lesson that you never really know what’s going to get thrown at you,” he said. “The emergency services, public works and other officials really rose to the occasion on that day for something that was not predicted and something that we’ve never dealt with before.”
He expressed pride in the firefighters from all three of the town’s volunteer departments — Stepney, Monroe and Stevenson, as well as to the police officers, town officials and the public works employees who brought Monroe’s roads back to help the town get back on its feet.
“I want to thank First Selectman Terry Rooney for gathering us on the anniversary, with a thank you to everyone who helped participate at that point and his foundation for sponsoring the pizza and other food,” Catalano said.
Roads to recovery
Rooney said he worked closely with Monroe Public Works Director Chris Nowacki on the day of the floods and in the aftermath.
As residents dealt with damaged driveways and some nearly lost their homes in the Webb Mountain part of town, the first selectman said it was difficult to decide the best way to go about leading the town’s recovery.
“It really puts a leader in a tough situation on which direction to go, so I had to rely on the guidance of DPW,” Rooney said. “Deputy Director Bill Phillips, Director Chris Nowacki said, ‘I think we can repair the roads ourselves.’ Having some experience with heavy equipment, I wasn’t so sure we could do it. But with the assistance of Shane Everetts, we came together, we rented some equipment and we got the roads done in eight days for the start of school. We basically got it done with the exception of Cottage Street.”
Rooney also said the state was gracious with its assistance, particularly on Route 34.
“I think most people see it as painless — and it’s easy to forget when you get things done quickly and efficiently,” he said. “The reason why we’re having this is so I can personally thank all of you on behalf of the town of Monroe for your efforts. The bravery and courage, and things people did beyond the call of duty is second to none.”
Rooney touted the efforts of the Monroe Town Council and recognized a few members in attendance, including Sean O’Rourke, Dona-Lyn Wales and Cathy Kohut.
State Rep. Tony Scott, R-Monroe, who Rooney praised for his response during last summer’s disaster recovery, was also in attendance, along with Sen. Jason Perillo, R-21st, who was a state representative in Shelton at the time.
“I volunteered in emergency services in Shelton for over 20 years, so I know how much hard work it was for all the emergency services and Monroe Public Works to come together and do all that was required in the days and weeks after the floods,” Perillo said. “Everybody should be commended for all they do to keep the community safe.”
“We didn’t just see all the facets of Monroe’s emergency services come together on August 18th,” Scott said. “We saw other communities: Bridgeport, Shelton, Trumbull and Norwalk reach out to their neighbors and help others in need. That’s what community is all about.”
Staying vigilant
Over the past year, Monroe’s firefighters have continued to enhance their resources for handling unique rescue calls, as well as their guidelines, procedures and severe weather protocols.
“We’ve had quite of few of these large ice storms and windstorms that bring a bunch of calls at once, but we were not prepared for this,” Catalano said of the floods. “In the past few years the emergency services in town have been working together better than ever.”
Catalano said town firefighters hosted a swift water rescue awareness course and four members took a swift water technicians training course. Money from donors and the town has been used to add more water rescue equipment, including things like inflatable boats, safety suits and ropes.
“We also, thanks to First Selectman Rooney and the town, appropriated some capital to allow us to purchase more radio equipment to set up a fire command center, so we could speak better to all the other agencies that are brought in,” he said. “So when we have something unique like this, we have the same radio frequencies and bands.”
“I’m very proud of our members that stepped up,” Catalano said of last summer’s emergency response. “When everybody else is looking outside and saying how crappy the weather is, whether it’s a blizzard, a flood in this case or a hailstorm, our members report here and leave their families behind. They leave their homes behind not knowing what’s going on out there.”
“That’s something I’m very grateful for, the volunteerism that we have in town,” he added. “The same goes for EMS and everyone who was helping that day … the DPW workers.”
Monroe Police Officer Mike Johnson, who is president of its police officers union, praised the town’s emergency services and employees for working in unison and thanked Rooney for putting together the ceremony, adding the town’s police officers appreciate it.
Rooney said the First Selectman Rooney Foundation was started because of the floods. He is the foundation president and Felicia Cooper, who attended Monday’s ceremony, is the vice president.
“There were people we could not help,” Rooney said. “I could not help them with taxpayer dollars and I said, ‘there’s never going to be a time when I can’t at least do something outside of the taxpayer money,’ so we started a foundation.”
“The First Selectman Rooney Foundation is paying for this,” he said of Monday’s event for the first responders and town employees. “We don’t want any congratulations or any accolades, we just want to let you know that we appreciate it.”
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