Long, wet night for MFD

At 0240 AM the morning of Friday, March 11th, Madison Fire received a call for a flooded basement on South Street in the village. 238 responded with a sump pump, and upon arrival noted that the creek was overflowing it's banks and had begun flooding the lawn, and as the morning went by, the driveway and garage.

The pump was quickly set up to pump out the basement, but was overwhelmed by the flooding creek. A scramble for sandbags to block water from pouring into the already deluged basement occurred. A back-hoe was used to try to clear ice away from the culverts under the road, with little success. As the morning progressed, with the flooding getting worse on South Street 4 other flooded basements were reported throughout the district. Oriskany Falls FD and Hubbardsville FD were dispatched to cover the other calls, and ultimately to respond to assist on South Street, as two houses were now being flooded and MFD personnel on scene were being overwhelmed by the spreading water. The Town of Madison brought in a grade-all to further clear ice away from the blocked culverts and allow the creek to flow freely. Ultimately, an engine was set up and fire hoses were used to blast the ice dammed creek clear.

All units finally cleared the scene 1040 AM

Madison Fire Department thanks Saddleback Farm and Promise Farm for providing used feed bags to use as sand bags; to the Madison County Highway Department for providing sandbags; the Town of Madison for providing much needed sand, manpower, and equipment; Fullers Excavating for their assistance and equipment; Oriskany Falls and Hubbardsville FD's for their assistance; and all others who assisted

click here for pictures from the scene