[ad_1]
Michael Santaferrara left early Friday morning to drive from Cazenovia to visit his sisters in the western part of the state. After driving about 140 miles on the Truway, he thought everything was fine.
“Then they shut it down with all the hazards,” a New York City visitor told The Batavian Friday night. “Once I got off the Truway, my whole world changed. Within seconds, I felt like I was in the Arctic. It was completely white. I was driving five miles an hour in search of what I hoped was a road.”
Through the 911 calls and observations of emergency responders, Santaferrara was not alone.
But he was probably one of the lucky ones. After leaving the Traway and on a country road – “it’s like going from one white canvas to another,” he explained – he reached an intersection near Pembroke Central School. Oakfield firefighters were on scene directing traffic and assisting.
Asked where Santaferra was headed, he replied, “Lewiston,” a quick response to try at his own peril. There were many accidents and vehicles off the road at the time, and emergency responders were not encouraged to drive if possible.
He asked where he was going to get off the road for a while and they directed him to the Oakfield Fire Hall. That was not as easy as it sounds. Along the way, Santaferra encountered various roadblocks that were plagued by disaster, and combined with whiteout conditions, he hoped to find his destination.
“I looked down the street and saw all the white people. He drove a little further down the road and onto the freeway and it was pure white,” he said. “I tried to knock on the door. I went back to the intersection, and they were all gone.”
Oakfield put the fire station on his phone and finally got to safety. Well, sort of. He was in the general area but could not even see the building. He tried opening rooms of the facility and knocking on doors before finding the right way in. And there, other rescuers and a group of firefighters will take care of them.
“They’ve already saved a family with a baby and a dog,” Santaferrara said. “They fed us all and gave us towels to dry ourselves and we stayed there to stay warm and then they took us to the hotel they recommended.”
There were also a couple traveling from Connecticut and another couple trying to drive to Canada. Although he grew up in Syracuse, Santaferra has lived in NYC for nearly four decades, he said.
“It’s gotten worse this winter,” he said, adding that his sisters offered to come and pick him up. “I told him, I’m letting you catch me no matter what.” I was in it. I could see what I was going through. 100 percent transparency… it’s the worst thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.
Despite the dicey journey, Santafrara was grateful for towels to dry off his snow-covered face, body and hands; grilled cheese sandwiches and drinks for comfort food; And for the true kindness of the firefighters themselves.
“They were really welcoming, warm and very welcoming,” he said. “I thought I was trapped in it… in the middle of nowhere. My fingers and face have never frozen so quickly.
Oakfield Fire Hall served as a warming station for the storm, said Firefighter Bill Sturgeon. He agreed it was one of the worst hurricanes ever — and that’s in his 32-year firefighting career. When needed, he transported people to a hotel in Batavia.
“It must have been between one and two high tides that I’ve had … visibility-wise. Between Fisher Road and the village line, 15 to 20 cars had to go off the road. I felt bad, but I couldn’t stop,” Sturgeon said Friday night. “We have more people coming into the fire hall. The captain was driving home and saw a couple and picked them up. One had asthma. But the ambulance crew was here to help.”
(See a personal account of driving in a hurricane.)
There were many helpers, including those who came from unexpected places. When Santaferrara walked into the fire hall, it was a poignant moment: the contact page of his late mother and father popped up on his phone.
“It makes you feel like they care about you,” he said.
When he got the last room at the city hotel, his luck continued. As the trail mix snack was running low, he was ready to stay until it seemed safe to travel. His vehicle remains in the fire hall, and the firefighters have offered to pick him up and bring him back to the station when that time comes.
“I’m incredibly grateful,” he said.
Top Photo: Oakfield Fire Rescue crews in Genesee County on Friday to rescue stranded motorists in wintry conditions; The car is ready for action, top. Photos submitted by Michael Santaferrara, stuck in a white-out and taken to a Batavia hotel on his way to Lewiston.
[ad_2]
Source link
