03/04/2026
This is what dedication looks like.
During Winter Storm Hernando, while most were sheltering in place, your Plymouth firefighters were digging their way to patients in need, battling fires, responding to carbon monoxide emergencies, and checking on residents buried in snow.
We nearly doubled our typical staffing and added additional apparatus to ensure we could answer the call.
On Monday during the storm, we responded to 193 incidents, including 2 Structure fires, more than 3 times our typical Monday call volume, part of a week that totaled over 650 calls for service. Our Fire Prevention and Training Divisions, in collaboration with the American Red Cross and Plymouth Public Schools, established a shelter at PNHS that provided warmth, food, and refuge for over 150 residents. Additionally, this team, along with the Police, Harbormaster, and MA Army National Guard, organized the evacuation of 65 residents who were stranded without heat.
Under the direction of our Director of Emergency Management, Christian Horvath, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) established the Regional Emergency Shelter on Sunday, prior to the storm. During the storm and the subsequent days, the EOC coordinated with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to secure over 65 pieces of snow removal equipment, requested assistance from the National Guard, and served as the liaison with Eversource and other critical partners to ensure a coordinated response and recovery.
Each photo in this post represents a family protected, a fire stopped before it spread, a resident kept warm, a life potentially saved. These are more than images of a storm — they are images of commitment to this community.
This was a true team effort. Thank you to Brewster Ambulance Service, Plymouth Police Department, the Harbormaster Division, our PECC Dispatchers at The Plymouth County Sheriff's Department, Plymouth Office of Emergency Management, DPW, American Red Cross of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), Eversource MA, Massachusetts Army National Guard, Plymouth Public Schools, and every organization and department that stood alongside us.
I could not be more proud of the grit, professionalism, and heart shown by this department.
When Plymouth calls, we answer.
— Chief Neil Foley
