City of Buffalo officials take steps to prepare for next major storm

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — City leaders in Buffalo are asking some tough questions in the wake of the deadly Christmas weekend Blizzard of '22. They want to know what went wrong and what can be done to improve the city's response if and when the next disaster strikes.

City of Buffalo Common Council member Chris Scanlon, representing the South District, is calling for change regarding storm response and wants to address crucial needs for the city.

"On the heels of the horrible storm we had and the tragic deaths we had, I think we've got to look at doing things a bit differently," Scanlon said.

He filed a number of resolutions that will be on the next meeting's agenda on January 10th.

"The Buffalo Fire Department, Buffalo Police Department, Department of Public Works - these are our most vital departments that provide our most vital services and we have to invest in them appropriately," he said.

Some of the resolutions include:

• directing the Department of Public Works to include heavy snowfall and blizzards in the snow removal plans
• receiving a detailed inventory of equipment each department has
• using American Rescue Plan funds to buy equipment crucial for the department of public works, fire and police

"We have to make sure we have the equipment to respond when necessary. I'm hoping that my colleagues will join me in the fight to get this," Scanlon added.

Scanlon said first responders, dispatchers and frontline workers are vital services the city provides. One of his resolutions includes providing counselors for those workers who experienced PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder from the storm. He said it is important to be proactive and look after the mental and emotional health of these employees.

Common Council president Darius Pridgen is also in favor of taking the right steps to better handle future storms.

"We could do better and we need to learn from it and to assist the administration of whatever they may need to do a better job next time," Pridgen said.

He said he is concerned about what major catastrophe the city could go through next.

"So, I think we have to be ready beyond a blizzard. We've got to be ready for emergencies, period," Pridgen said.

Now, city officials are bringing in help. Mayor Byron Brown tweeted that New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service will study the blizzard and provide an after-action report. Sarah Kaufman, interim director of Rudin Center for Transportation with NYU, is one of the many who is joining in on the study.

"We will be looking at all of the news media, social media, talking with community groups, as well as government organizations to get a clearer picture and a comprehensive picture of what happened," Kaufman said.

Kaufman said the team will be looking at preparations, a timeline of events and what lessons can be learned for the next storm.

"The hope is for it to be a crucial document that will help plan for the next winter, for the next storm event because there's always something to learn," she added.

The goal is to have the report done by early spring. A city spokesperson said the assessment is the mayor's initiative and it is something he wanted to do.

In response to the resolutions, a city spokesperson said the city has added a number of new vehicles to the fire department, and one is a direct result of the November storm. One vehicle includes a mini ambulance with track capabilities. The goal of this vehicle is for it to navigate through side streets. The department is also getting a new pumper, a new aerial and a fire truck with platform capabilities. The spokesperson said the age of the fleet did not affect the response in this blizzard. The department also responded to 11 working fires during the storm as well.