Chester County Residents Get Warmth From Fuel Oil Delivered By Snowmobile
By Walt Hunter and David Madden
PAOLI, Pa., (CBS) -- Heavy snow, that changed to sleet and rain at mid-morning, made driving and walking a challenge for Chester County residents.
Many morning commuters stayed home, leaving the Paoli Transit Center nearly deserted during morning rush-hour.
As KYW's David Madden reports, it was hard to find a business open as the storm went into a midday lull. Road crews took advantage of the break to clear main highways of slush and ice that developed as the snow turned to rain. J.B. Redding of Glen Mills ventured out to pick up some co-workers. She had a unique way to describe the storm.
"The roads are still pretty gnarly. The back roads still have a good bit of snow and in some places it hasn't been touched yet at all. Well, it's been quite a snowy, snowy, snowy winter," she said.
At least two cars and a Septa bus were stuck on hills along Lancaster Ave. in Paoli, as plows made frequent runs to keep up with the fast-falling snow.
Fortunately, the snow, sleet and ice did not lead to a repeat of widespread power failures caused by falling trees and limbs in last week's storm.
Fuel oil deliveryman Ignacio Ortiz, to help those in need of heating fuel, hitched a trailer to a snowmobile, delivering small amounts of fuel oil and propane to those who ran short and who lived on streets where regular fuel trucks might get stuck.
Ambulance crews, many with special 4-wheel drive fire units escorting them through the storm, responded to several reports of accidents and falls, but there was no repeat of the scores of calls for fallen and burning wires that kept emergency workers scrambling through last week's storm.