Last weekend, members of the Capital Region BOCES Health/Safety/ Risk Management Service jumped into action to help school districts devastated by flood waters resulting from Tropical Storm Irene nearly two weeks ago.
BOCES Risk staff who regularly work with school districts in Schoharie County, including Cobleskill-Richmondville, Middleburgh and Schoharie, assisted with clean up and recovery efforts underway in those neighboring school districts—primarily in Middleburgh, which was especially hard hit when the Schoharie Creek overflowed its banks due to the excessive rainfall.
Health and Safety Coordinator Tim Murphy planned to spend his day last Friday in Cobleskill, where Golding Middle School has been serving as a shelter for many displaced residents and a command post for the county’s recovery efforts. After consulting with Cobleskill’s building and grounds supervisor, however, it was agreed that Murphy’s help was needed much more urgently in Middleburgh. After attending a safety meeting, Murphy spent the better part of the day helping clean up mud and debris in the district office and later removing and sorting chemicals and cleaning agents at Middleburgh’s Junior-Senior High School.
“The teamwork of Middleburgh’s administrators and employees and the compassion of the many volunteers was beyond inspirational,” said Murphy. “I consider myself lucky to work for an organization that enables its people to go where needed and work outside the routine during difficult times.”
Meanwhile, Barry Becker, another BOCES health and safety coordinator, spent much of last Sunday assisting with water sampling in the Schoharie school district, after a concern about possible water supply contamination forced the area to issue a “boil water” advisory. Becker helped the school district flush out its lines to rid the system of any potential contaminants.
The BOCES Health/Safety/Risk Management staff also delivered supplies to the shelter at Cobleskill-Richmondville’s middle school and provided personal protective equipment, such as gloves, to prevent injury for those assisting with the clean up in Middleburgh and elsewhere.
"There are many health and safety concerns involved when responding to flooding, from safe access to electrical and chemical hazards," said Health/Safety/Risk Management Service Program Manager Kristin Bucciferro. "It is important to keep these potential hazards in mind as people continue to work on cleaning up after the floods."
Bucciferro added that the timing and variation of the hurricane’s impact on area school districts provided a unique challenge for the Risk team.
“We were able to meet the previously scheduled training needs of the districts that opened on time, but at the same time, we wanted to commit as many resources as possible to those schools that were affected most,” she said “In the weeks ahead, we look forward to helping everyone prioritize their clean-up efforts in a safe and healthy manner."
