24 hours: 116 Emergency Responses due to Hurricane Irene

During the afternoon hours of Saturday August 27 and into the early morning hours of Sunday August 28, Hurricane Irene slammed into Calvert County with a powerful punch that left a path of destruction. Due to the preparedness of county departments, members were ready and were able to answer all calls for duty. At the height of the storm, wind speeds were sustained at 60 mph with gusts much higher between 80-100 mph. For several hours, emergency responders were pulled from the streets for their own safety and well-being. In addition, the local utility companies (SMECO and BG&E) followed the same path to protect their employees. With this, hundreds of trees toppled across roadways tearing down power lines, leaving the majority of the citizens without power, running water and no access for local fire departments (due to roads being completely blocked).

During 24 hours, the membership of the Huntingtown VFD responded to **116 calls**. Over 40 members of the Huntingtown VFD staffed the station during this time period.