>>
Coming up we talk to those -
that have to deal with the power-
outage in Rochester that took -
the entire northeastern United -
States by surprise.-
And "THE BUSINESS SECTION WITH -
DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE."-
And along the way on "NEED TO -
KNOW."-
>> Thanks for joining us.-
I am MICHAEL CAPUTO.-
-
It's nice to say that at all -
considering before the commute -
from from work, the lights went -
out.-
We were victims of the largest -
blackout on record.-
There is, I guess some -
disagreement as to what caused -
it.-
At least, Friday morning there -
was.-
American and Canadian officials -
could not agree as to the source-
of the blackout.-
We are not here to talk about -
that.-
We are here to talk about how it-
affected the Rochester area.-
Before we recap what happened, a-
programming note.-
The scheduled topic for this -
program was supposed to be -
tourism in the finger lakes -
region will be aired next week -
as we look at this blackout -
situation.-
The lights went down before rush-
hour on Thursday.-
The state of emergency was -
called at 7:00 p.m.-
That was due to traffic -
concerns.-
There were 575 traffic lights -
out throughout the county.-
Also during the worst period of -
time, travel in the county was -
-
Hampered in other ways, that -
included the airport where there-
were delays.-
Although the facility was -
running on its emergency -
power.-
There were extra police, extra -
deputies and extra troopers -
activated for the evening but no-
reports of any major -
disturbances during the -
evening.-
Oddly enough there were no -
-
Changes to the big event in town, the pga championship.-
-
The state of emergency was -
lifted at 6:00 p.m. on Friday -
morning.-
Here to talk more about how the -
county coped with the 2003 -
-
Blackout, the Monroe county sheriff, Patrick -
O'flinn.-
You worked all night Thursday -
night and you come in to talk to-
us.-
Appreciate it.-
>> Great to be here.-
>> Sheriff, first off, how does -
the emergency management system -
get up and running during a -
period like this?-
What happened at the start of -
all the things that happened -
yesterday?-
>> We saw a bit of a power snap -
downtown and realized that there-
was something wrong and then we -
got reports from different -
packets in the community, in -
-
Scottsville, and Hilton and out in east -
Rochester and we were told that -
there were growing power -
outages.-
At that point we contacted the -
people from the emergency -
management office.-
And said that there may be an -
issue growing here and we want -
to find out what the cause is, -
if we can, and then determine -
what the impact is going to -
be.-
>> Who determines when everyone -
assembles in that central -
location that is on Scottsdale -
road?-
When does that determination get-
made?-
>> Once they determine what the -
nature of the situation is, and -
try to determine the -
duration.-
If it's going to be something -
handled within an hour or two -
they may not open up the office -
but they saw it was growing and -
then they found out that it -
affected more than just the -
Monroe county area and was -
growing down the East Coast and -
then they knew this was going to-
be at least a multi-hour -
situation and they activated the-
office.-
>> You would also, I would -
-
Assume, dealing directly with the deputies, -
there's probably some things -
that your staff has to do off -
the bat.-
What?-
>> Especially in this situation -
where we have a national action,-
an international event going on -
in our community, we want to -
make sure that the terrorism -
issue was not an impact.-
That was our first concern.-
Is this something that is -
targeting that event in some -
way, shape or form?-
And once we determined that, it -
was a more widespread thing.-
Our staff was still on alert but-
not have the major concern that -
there was going to be something -
that was going to target that -
event.-
>> You will have to deploy -
-
People to places where the -
power is out and traffic lights -
are not on and things like -
that.-
First of all, let me ask you -
about that situation.-
For a brief period of time there-
were people that said, is this -
terrorism?-
What is the sheriff's department-
do in coordination with the -
county with other police -
departments to get that and get -
that -- knock that out of the -
park right away?-
>> Actually we were fortunate -
because we had representatives -
from all of the local and state -
and federal agencies working in -
connection for the pga -
-
Championship and so the word was able to get out quickly
through them and we -
had members on the joint -
terrorism task force with the -
F.B.I.-
And so we were able to -
coordinate and see if they had -
any intelligence that would say -
that something was coordinated -
and targeting this and that -
didn't appear to be the -
case.-
>> How long did it take before -
you realized that wasn't the -
case?-
>> That was probably within an -
hour or so that we were able to -
definitely pin down that -
wasn't.-
I mean we had initial -
confirmation that we don't -
believe so, but we wanted to -
double-check and check the -
different areas and different -
communities also.-
>> So here we have the pga -
championship and a ton of media -
here.-
We have a lot of visitors -
here.-
Clearly that alone has to be an -
impact on your department.-
Am I right?-
>> Oh, absolutely.-
We were planning this for two -
years and we have an incredible -
number of staff dedicated along -
with the state police and the -
local agencies to make sure this-
goes off well and from a public -
safety perspective everything -
runs smooth.-
>> So how do you coordinate -- -
how do you coordinate this -
sports event with all of a -
sudden a blackout?-
>> A blackout.-
-
It was a challenge.-
-
But we were able to -- we -
obviously are still running all -
of our units in the patrol -
districts that they have and we -
changed schedules and increased -
staffing to be able to address -
basic problems but we had to -
actually call in people and make-
sure that we were staffed up a -
bit for last night.-
To make sure that with all the -
traffic lights that were down, -
that traffic flow continued to -
move smoothly throughout the -
entire community.-
And I think, I have to credit -
the community, I think they -
learned a lot from the ice storm-
and remember that when you're -
approaching an intersection, -
-
Caution and the rules of the road.-
-
>> Let's talk about how the -
effects of the icestorm.-
There's obvious ways but in term-
it's -- let's talk about it from-
your perspective first.-
Getting people together -- how -
did this differ from that -
event?-
>> Of course you didn't have all-
the damage.-
With the icestorm you had the -
hazardous condition of ice -
everywhere and then you also had-
quite a bit of damage.-
Lines were down.-
Trees were down.-
Peoples' houses, and cars were damaged.-
-
You had to deal with that and -
make sure that injury and such -
from the initial tragedy was -
something that got addressed and-
was taken care of.-
Then you got into the fact that -
now you've got the cold weather -
and people becoming chilled and -
potential hypothermia and other -
weather-related illnesses.-
And then you had to open up -
shelters and so it grew up into -
a much larger scope from a -
safety perspective.-
This one hit a larger area and -
caused a lot of confusion.-
But once you were able to sort -
some of the initial problems out-
we were able to address the -
public safety concerns -
quickly.-
>> Would you say you learned -
something?-
You learned something from the -
icestorm that you could put -
toward yesterday's event?-
>> Absolutely.-
>> What?-
>> You understand how the power -
grid worked a bit more.-
So you knew when they were -
shutting down that they were -
able to determine quickly and -
that was a big concern that this-
was not being -- something that -
was happening haphazardly or -
there was a problem from that -
standpoint.-
No they needed to shut down to -
secure the grid and then bring -
it up in a systematic flow.-
And so that was something that I-
had learned quite a bit about, -
the power grid and how that -
worked.-
And then, as we said, the -
community and how they were -
going to respond when it came to-
traffic inconveniences and -
things like that.-
It seemed to work much more -
smoothly.-
>> You're convinced that the -
community learned something from-
this?-
>> I really ---
>> From the icestorm, I -
mean?-
>> I think so because we did not-
have the number of accidents of -
people -- we didn't get the -
number of calls of people -
-
Driving erratically and going through the intersections at high
speeds.-
Everything seemed to be in a much more orderly fashion.-
-
>> I want to ask you again about-
the pga, and I'm curious ---
let's say that this power outage-
had gone beyond.-
Was into Friday and maybe even -
into Saturday.-
How would your staff, how would -
the deputies, have handled -
dealing with the pga and the -
event and dealing with this?-
Would you have had to say at -
some point we would not be able -
to do what we thought we could -
do at the sporting event?-
>> We were looking at all of the-
issues surrounding that and -
obviously it isn't just a -
situation that affects this -
community, it's something that -
the whole world is looking to -
see this sporting event continue-
on.-
And we were having to assess -
what the big issue was and do it-
safely and can we make sure that-
the public that is responding is-
going to be able to come to the -
event and be safe when they're -
there.-
And that's when we work very -
closely with the pga -
officials.-
>> It seemed like early last -
night we're going to go ahead -
with this, not knowing at that -
point whether or not the power -
was going to be fully -
restored.-
And the thought was daylight -
would come and daylight would -
-
Provide -- it would be a lot easier for people to travel, I
guess.-
So that was the thought -
process.-
You know there's going to be out-
there that says, forget about -
the golf tournament!-
We have to deal with what we -
have to deal with here in -
town.-
>> Correct.-
And we looked at it, can we do -
it safely, and we thought we -
could because we had enough -
staff and we could deploy them -
differently to make sure that -
the intersections, we would -
broaden from where we were in -
the immediate area, of course, -
and the parking areas.-
And we felt that we could do it -
whether there was going to be -
power or the traffic lights in -
place or not.-
>> Let me ask you this.-
-
We had the icestorm and now we had this.-
-
Have the pga championship -
probably had some, I would think-
some overtime for the deputy -
staff.-
How are resources being tapped -
right now in your -
department?-
Are you feeling the pinch?-
>> We are definitely feeling the-
pinch.-
We had been reimbursed for the -
staffing that we are requiring -
for handling the pga from the -
pga.-
But when it comes to staffing -
and bringing people on and -
extending shifts, we're tapped -
pretty good there.-
>> How much did this blackout -
---
Effect you as opposed to the icestorm?-
-
-
>> The duration helps.-
It wasn't as long as the icestorm.-
But we had to just start to gear-
up.-
And we were assessing throughout-
the entire event what resources -
we were going to need, what -
resources wed keep on standby so-
people could get rest and not be-
all worn out when it comes to -
looking at them on a longer -
duration.-
>> Sheriff, you had a very -
Interesting year and I want to broaden that out a little bit
more.-
-
There's a situation in Webster -
that happened a few days -
ago.-
And there's a situation in -
Pittsburgh, I believe, and other-
area it's -- hatfield, is that -
right?-
Hatfield?-
Talk a bit about what this year,-
2003, has been like for your -
department and for the -
suburbs?-
>> It really has been very -
hectic and we have seen -
unprecedented violence.-
>> Unprecedented?-
>> It really is.-
They have a homicide of the -
nature we had in huntfield and -
this robbery and homicide at the-
Webster area.-
And then too we have a deputy -
find a body in the trunk of a -
car.-
And just such a short period of -
time, let alone all the issues -
going on in the urban community -
where we have resources -
dedicated to supporting that -
effort.-
It is, concerning and we have -
coordinated with all the local -
and state agencies to see what -
we can do to address the -
violence issue but it's very -
---
>> You need more help, you -
think?-
You think it's time to have more-
people out on the streets?-
>> We are looking at working -
together.-
Obviously, budgets are tight and-
it's a tough environment to work-
in with the existing budgets the-
way they are.-
But we're looking at trying to -
do as much consolidation as we -
can and coordination of the -
agencies together to make sure -
that we maximize the resources -
that we have out there.-
>> We just have a few -
seconds.-
What did it do to the psyche of -
the department when you have so -
many events, so many events like-
this?-
>> I think actually the staff -
has been up for the -
challenge.-
It seems like no matter what is -
-
Thrown at the different individuals, they're able to respond
and it almost builds a moral.-
A challenge.-
We can do this, we can pull this off.-
-
And the staff is, I think, -
responded very well.-
>> So again to recap.-
Everything seems to be back in -
working order as of Friday -
morning.-
And things seem to be going in -
working order in Rochester.-
Any other lessons we learned -
from this?-
>> Well, I don't need anymore -
challenges than what we've had -
in this last week.-
But, no, I think that it just -
shows that the coordination, -
with the systems that we have in-
place, and the protocols that -
were developed through having, -
like we said, a lot of people -
feel that having it in the area -
is not a good thing but in a lot-
of ways we have to prepare.-
We have money from the federal -
government to prepare and those -
systems that you have in place -
can be modified to address any -
type of emergencies.-
>> Thank you very much for being-
here.-
As always we want your input on -
your discussions.-
You can do that by visiting us -
on the web at -
wxxi.org/ntk
.-
Or you can email us directly at -
needtoknow@wxxi.org
Now here's THE BUSINESS
SECTION WITH "THE
DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE."
>>
With us is a reporter from "THE BUSINESS SECTION WITH
DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE" business section.-
all of the things that we were -
going to talk about we will set -
aside.-
Let's talk about the blackout -
2003.-
You wrote a story about the -
power grid.-
Is it too old?-
What did people think?-
-
>> The answer to that, a lot of -
people are saying yes and these -
are people that have said that -
we need more generating stations-
and such and there's another -
part to it, which is the -
environmental side.-
And so it's a very polarizing -
issue and it's very -
difficult.-
I guess under New York law to -
get new power plants, generating-
plants.-
>> And what you were talking -
about in the terms of the -
environmental side is folks that-
don't want to create more power -
plants, am I right?-
>> Correct.-
>> Where is that going at this -
point?-
It's the New York independent -
system operator, I believe, who -
controls the delivery of power -
in the state.-
>> Well, there are -
recommendations for years that -
-
We need more and the Department of Energy had a -
proposal in 2001 that we needed -
about 50-90 new power plants -
nationwide for the next 20 years-
to keep up with demand and that -
demand is going to grow as the -
economy gets back on track.-
and So there are a lot of fears -
that the demand is going to -
outpace the supply and leave us -
with other situations that we -
saw last night.-
>> Now the New York independent -
system operator they are -
referring to this agency, this -
organization last night, saying -
that we don't make the decision -
on this.-
They make the decision.-
-
This is such a widespread event.-
-
They are a nonprofit -
organizations that operate the -
electrical systems.-
Are they lobbying for improving -
the grid and adding more -
power?-
Is that their role?-
>> They are certainly talking -
about it.-
-
I think they are a nonprofit -
organization and so I don't know-
if they could technically lobby -
the politicians officially but -
they have certainly made their -
views known.-
And of course, they are loosely -
associated with the power -
companies in New York.-
They operate the grid for the -
power company.-
-
-
>> Well the rg&a, I should say the energy east,
people that are
in town this week for the tournament.-
-
So they were on hand.-
They seem to be not bistanders -
but there was not a lot they -
could say or do.-
Are they saying anything about -
what improvements could be made -
in terms of the grid, the -
system, the delivery?-
>> Before it changed hands the -
company was very active in -
saying that we needed more -
generating capacity and this all-
fits in with the movement toward-
deregulation, and one of the -
reasons this hasn't happened -
before is that the deregulation -
movement in New York has gone -
slower than in other areas.-
In California they tried to go -
cold Turkey and we know ---
>> We know what happened -
there.-
>> We know what happened -
there.-
But in the larger sense our -
-
Area, I think was more fortunate than others.-
-
Because we are in the national spotlight -
and as of Friday morning the -
power was restored to about -
everybody in the area.-
That is good for the businesses -
that are hosting all those folks-
at oak hill.-
>> And we should bring that up -
up.-
Here we have a major event.-
A lot of businesses were hoping -
to take advantage of this major -
event.-
So are they going to experience -
any problems because of this -
blackout, or is everything going-
to go as planned?-
>> Well, I guess that the word -
-
We were getting is that throughout -
the day there may be rolling -
blackouts as the system -
approaches to the peak.-
But compared to New York, which -
was still struggling, New York -
City, it looked like we were -
virtually restored and so -
therefore, you know, the hotels -
and the restaurants and the -
grocery stores and all of those -
are able to sort of reap the -
benefits of people bringing -
their money from the outside -
in.-
-
>> There was a man that wrote about the airport and
it also
seemed to handle this very, very well.-
No problems, right, at the airport?-
No problems in terms of travel for passengers, for business.-
Any problems that you heard of?-
-
>> No, I think that there were people missing flights.-
I heard of flights taking off, people were not being able
to
screened and so they couldn't go anywhere.-
But what I understood is is that McDonalds and the other stores
at the airport were functioning as norm afment you couldn't
get
on your plane but you could get a big-mac.-
-
>> You need a big-mac, particularly if you are stuck
overnight.-
Getting off the blackouts for a second.-
The world worries about in the county, business and the fact
that they are not using airtran.-
Not using airtran like they should be or how they would like.-
Where are things going with that and they talked to business
leaders?-
-
>> Sure they made the rounds and talked to the editorial
board
at the newspaper with us.-
-
>> The airtran?-
-
>> Airtran and county officials and the concern is not
so much
that airtran would pull out, but that they wouldn't be able
to
expand.-
The load factor and the number of seats they are up ating
is
under the system -- they are occupying is under the average.-
They were the first to step up and say we will commit to a
certain number of seats and they have lived up to what they
promised and they commit to supporting the airline.-
They are not talking about numbers so hard to say what that
commitment is.-
-
>> They are prodding the business community to jump
aboard.-
Use airtran.-
Is that the feeling that people got?-
-
>> I think that is what they were trying to do but in
a
nonoffensive way, if you will, not trying to tell the
businesses what their business should be.-
But to point out that the fairs to stay low, we need to support
the low-cost carrier.-
-
>> Thanks for joining us.-
Let us know what you think.-
Visit our discussion board on the web at wxxi.org/ntk.-
Or you can email us at needtoknow@wxxi.org.-
And we will look next week at the finger lakes region.-
We hope you join us then.-
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