Snow Puts Fulton on Freeze

How are Fulton residents surviving the winter that stole its mobility? 

TAISHA WALKER

Reporting for NCC News 

Fulton, NY

There are a few things that people living in Fulton can expect year round, snow, snow and more snow.   In many places 17 feet of snowfall can shut down a town causing children to stay home from school and parents to call in sick from work.  Well that's not the case for Fulton.  

In fact, residents of the town say the snow is no big deal at least after you get used to it.  "We usually get large amounts in a short period of time which makes it challenging as far as getting the city cleared and the businesses, people to work and school," said Tom Handley, who has lived in Oswego County for over 20 years.

Handley says part plows, snow blowers and snow removal equipment are tools everyone in the town needs to survive the winter.  In a town with the population of about 12 thousand people, it would be hard for anyone to move around town without plowed streets and cleaned sidewalks. But that very thing did happen.

 

Fulton's Department of Public Works had a hard time removing the 37 inches of snow that covered the town in late-January because their  plows, snow blowers and garbage trucks were trapped under concrete and dust. 

Heavy snow falling on top of the DPW Highway garage caused the building to crumble almost taking the lives of four workers down with the structure said Dan O'Brien, DPW Commissioner.

"The DPW garage collapsing hindered our mobility and our ways to respond to the snow storm said O'Brien.

With the town at a stand still, the work of many city workers started to pile up like the feet long snow banks. But Captain Daniel Abell, of the Fulton Fire Department says people are  understanding when it takes his team a bit longer to respond to a fire. 

"Most people that are from this area know what it is like to travel and navigate the streets through a snow storm of that nature, and they understand that you can only get there in a reasonable time during these weather conditions," said Abell. 

  So members within the community and surrounding neighborhoods chipped in and helped in any way they could. Some helped elderly neighbors shovel snow, some used their personal plows to help clear streets and many just held their trash until garbage trucks came the following week. 

Some people may think the snow storm that caused the garage collapse was an awful event.  In this small city where everyone seems to know each other, many residents were glad that the event brought the community bond even closer.