Weather contributes to accidents, injuries

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Brutally cold air descended on Maine Wednesday, contributing to dozens of accidents as cars careened on frozen, wind-whipped roadways, keeping students and teachers home from schools, and inflicting frostbite on several firefighters who braved the below-zero temperatures to battle a fire in Aroostook County.

It was so cold that the National Weather Service took the unusual step of issuing a health advisory. “If you are not prepared, these cold conditions can lead to hypothermia, frostbite, or possibly death,” the weather service warned via media outlets.

Firefighters in Van Buren perhaps suffered most from the cold as they fought a potato house fire that destroyed the facility and more than 10,000 barrels of potatoes.

“It was the nastiest fire I have fought in 31 years of service,” said Van Buren Assistant Fire Chief Randy Anderson. “We were faced with high winds, subzero temperatures and equipment that was freezing even before we arrived at the fire.”

Five or six firefighters were treated for frostbite at the scene by emergency medical technicians, at St. John Valley Health Center in Van Buren and at Cary Medical Center in Caribou. Anderson said they were not serious cases because they were caught quickly.

The statewide low of 26 below zero was recorded at Pittston Farm in Somerset County. The high temperature in Bangor was minus 6, rising from 15 below. The strong winds made it seem much colder. In Frenchville, the temperature hit minus 22 but the wind chill was minus 54, said Tom Hawley, meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Gray.

New England’s low was reported at New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, where the temperature dipped to 44 below with a wind chill of 100 below.

The National Weather Service forecast that overnight the temperature in several parts of Maine would dip to between minus 20 and minus 25. Potentially record-setting cold is forecast for today.

There were numerous accidents Wednesday in and around Bangor during the commute to and from work that were attributed to the weather. The Penobscot Regional Communications Center sent law enforcement personnel to 33 accidents before noon – 10 of which resulted in injuries.

“We’re extremely busy,” a center dispatcher said Wednesday morning.

At the start of the commute home, several other accidents occurred including a 2:35 p.m. rollover involving a woman trapped in her car on the Overlock Road in Levant. LifeFlight was called and Michelle Mayhew, 29, of the Carmel area was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center. Her condition was not available.

The cold weather prompted warnings from oil companies and utilities for people to make sure their furnaces were working properly. In Sidney, residents of Hearthside Extended Care Facility were taken to the hospital twice in three days this week for carbon monoxide poisoning apparently caused by a malfunctioning furnace.

Education, from preschool to college and beyond, was put on hold in Aroostook County for the first time in the memory of many local people. The closing of many schools was announced Tuesday afternoon. The closings included University of Maine campuses at Fort Kent and Presque Isle and the Northern Maine Community College at Presque Isle. A total of seven school units in Aroostook County were closed.

Additionally many meetings were canceled, postponed and rescheduled around the state.

The Bangor Area Homeless Shelter on Cedar Street reported being almost full Wednesday. “The cold weather has not increased the number of homeless people in Bangor but has helped to fill the vacancies [at the shelter],” Director Dennis Marble said.

The homeless shelter relayed to police at least two reports of homeless people seen walking outdoors.

“We inform the police to do a wellness check, if we know where they are,” Marble said.

Marble said the door to the shelter never closes when the weather is cold.

“We’re open 24 hours a day and we run a soup kitchen,” he said. “People staying here can stay here all day if need be.”

Emergency Road Service calls to AAA on Wednesday increased substantially. Rene Letourneau, media relations representative for AAA, said the company received more than 4,000 calls in Maine.

“The vast majority are jump-starts for batteries that wouldn’t start,” she said. “It’s just too cold for batteries. We’ve had a steady call volume all day.”

Letourneau said callers should be patient.

“On average it’s taking about two hours for our service personnel to reach drivers for a jump-start,” she said. “That’s due to the weather and the number of calls coming in.”

Letourneau said drivers should prepare for the bad weather by packing extra clothing or blankets and food. She also suggested carrying a cell phone, if possible.

The state’s busiest ski resort, Sunday River, was lacking business. At the summit it was minus 26 and minus 13 at the lodge. The ski trails were largely deserted and empty ski lifts swayed in the wind as they moved up the mountain.

The resort offered free hand warmers, hot chocolate and coffee to keep skiers warm. A spokeswoman estimated there were only about 250 skiers, compared to 1,000 to 1,500 on a typical weekday in January.

Icicles were hanging from the eyelashes and brows from one of the skiers, David Mulcahy, who said he wasn’t going to let the cold keep him from his long-awaited ski trip to Sunday River.

He felt seasoned after sitting through the Titans-Patriots game in Foxboro, Mass., last week where it dipped to 2 degrees – with a wind chill of 11 below. But nothing prepared him for what he encountered on Monday.

“This is the coldest I’ve ever skied in. The wind just cut right through my clothes,” said Mulcahy, 38, of Dedham, Mass.

Another skier, Michael-John Pierce, said the numbness started in his fingertips and worked its way up his arms until his whole body was chilled as he skied runs by the names of Agony and Monday Mourning.

“Words like ‘agony’ take on a whole new meaning on a day like this,” said Pierce, 22, of Darien, Conn.

One man who felt he had little choice but to brave the cold weather Thursday was 80-year-old Paul Schipper, who holds the nation’s longest skiing streak having skied every day Sugarloaf USA has been open since 1981.

He didn’t sound too happy after coming down from the 4,000-foot mountain, where the temperature was minus 25.

“I’m getting old. My hands get cold. Everything’s cold,” he said. “The wind is awful.” He said he had lost count of the number of days he’s skied, but he believed it was more than 3,800.

Car tips for cold weather

Turn off all accessories, including heater, defroster, lights, wipers, radio and high-tech devices (cell phone, GPS, radar detectors).

Check owners manual for special cold start procedures.

. Don’t “gun” or “rev” an engine. Take it easy until the car warms up. Hard acceleration can damage a cold engine.

. Never warm a car in a garage, closed or otherwise. Carbon monoxide exhaust fumes could be fatal to occupants in the car, garage or attached structures.

Other cold weather suggestions:

. Keep an equal mixture of antifreeze and water in the car’s cooling system.

. Park in a garage, if possible. If not, park with the front of the car out of the wind. Wind chill has adverse effects on your battery and engine components.

. Keep the gas tank at least half-filled.

. Add gasoline antifreeze to the fuel tank. The fluid will protect against fuel-line freeze in cold weather.

Fuel-line freeze-up

When moist air collects inside your gas tank and cools, it condenses to form water – the same way droplets bead up and run down a glass of cold lemonade on a humid day. Because water is heavier than gas, it sinks to the lowest point in the fuel system. And when the mercury drops below freezing, that water turns to ice, which may result in frozen fuel lines. (The typical symptoms of frozen fuel lines are stalling soon after ignition, followed by difficulty restarting.)

A fairly full tank reduces the chance of fuel-line freeze-up because it reduces the amount of water in the system; the more gas in the tank, the less room for moist air, and consequently the less condensation. The only remedy for a frozen gas line is having your vehicle towed to a heated garage to thaw.

Information provided by the Automobile Association of America.