Emergency Notifications, Shelter Availability Spark Debate

 CHATHAM – How long does power have to be out before residents are notified? And should the community center remain open overnight during long-duration outages?

 Those were among the questions posed to town officials Aug. 19 by resident Elaine Gibbs, who has long advocated for a more robust response to power outages, including having the town keep the community center open overnight when necessary to provide shelter for residents, especially during winter storms.

 Town officials and an Eversource spokesman defended their messaging and coordination, and they could not commit to keeping the community center open during a long-term power outage.

 “I’m floored by this,” Gibbs responded. “It’s good to know that we’ll be on our own…even though the lights and heat are on in all public buildings.”

“We have never left anybody behind,” responded Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Justin Tavano, adding that in the past folks have been brought to the police or fire stations for refuge during storms, and that the town has a partnership with local hotels to shelter people who may be experiencing unsafe conditions.

Eversource Community Relations Specialist Phil Burt said most power interruptions are restored in under five minutes, and the utility alerts customers who have signed up for notifications about the estimated times for restoration. While homeowners can notify the company of an outage by texting “OUT” to 23129, Eversource does not have the technology to know if power is out at the individual home level. That will change when an advanced metering system is rolled out, but that won’t happen on the Cape for two years, he said.

The town also has a Smart911 system that residents can sign up for that provides emergency notifications. Town Manager Jill Goldsmith said there is no policy dictating when notification is sent during a power outage or when information is posted on social media. A memo from Goldsmith, Tavano and Deputy Emergency Management Director Mark Heller indicates that there are no specific triggers for emergency notifications “because there are far too many scenarios and variables to consider. Instead, emergency management and public safety personnel rely on experience, training and education to evaluate the situation and make decisions based on the conditions presented.” A power outage on a day when temperatures are in the 60s or above might be handled differently than one that happens when temperatures are below freezing, they said.

Gibbs was critical of officials for not sending out a notification of an outage on April 26, when 4,420 residences were left without electricity after a fire on a utility pole and a transformer explosion. 

“By any standard that’s huge,” she said. Even though the weather was not hazardous at the time, residents had no idea how long power could be out. “Based on the size of the outage and past experience, it could have been out for days. It’s happened before,” she said. Even without power, many residents had access to cell phones and could have received notifications via text or social media, she added.

Officials monitored that outage, and most residences had power restored in less than an hour, said Tavano. Because weather conditions were not hazardous, it did not rise to the level of issuing a notification, he said.

“It doesn’t have to be a matter of life or death,” said Gibbs. “There was no way for us to know how long this would last.”

She had a valid point, said select board member Stuart Smith.

“If we could improve communications when we have these types of emergencies or quasi-emergencies, I think it would be helpful to the public,” he said. At minimum, there should be standards and guidelines as to when notifications are issued. “I think it wouldn’t hurt to have some general guidelines on when these notifications can be made and when they can’t, and who’s going to do it,” he said.

Based on the discussion, Select Board Chair Dean Nicastro said Goldsmith will work with staff and the emergency management team to develop notification protocols.

The discussion then turned to shelters. The decision to open a regional shelter during major storms is made by the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, according to the memo. The nearest shelter to Chatham is Cape Cod Technical High School in the Pleasant Lake section of Harwich. 

Residents shouldn’t have to travel that far, perhaps during storm conditions, for shelter, Gibbs said. Most town buildings, including the community center, have generators paid by tax dollars and at minimum should be available in emergencies to allow people to warm up or cool down and charge devices, she said. 

In the memo, officials said residents should be prepared to be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours and call 911 if they or someone they know is in imminent danger. That’s not acceptable, Gibbs said.

“That shouldn’t occur under any circumstances as an actual plan in the United States or Massachusetts, let alone Chatham,” she said. “Translated it means we residents are on our own.”

Shelters and personal care sites for warming or cooling have different requirements, Tavano said. An overnight shelter has medical and security personnel on site, sleeping and pet accommodations, showers and a kitchen, and it must be accessible. The community center can be a personal care site and provide temporary warming or cooling and emergency power to charge communication devices, he said, but it cannot function as an overnight shelter.

“We simply don’t have the capacity to offer that right now locally,” Tavano said, noting that a shelter is meant as a “lifeboat” in extreme circumstances. Even though there hasn’t been a significant storm requiring opening of a shelter in four years, he said emergency managers review plans regularly.

Gibbs said she wasn’t looking for the town to have a fully operational emergency shelter. “It’s a request to simply unlock the door for a temporary overnight place to go during a local potentially life-threatening emergency,” she said. Chatham often experiences outages and storms that don’t impact other areas, and it is “common sense” to provide shelter in a building like the community center.

“If one person shows up, it’s worth it,” she said.

Smith asked that the board revisit the question, and Nicastro agreed to continue the discussion to a later date.