EASTHAMPTON – Easthampton’s Police Department is giving a special shout-out to the city’s Department of Public Works for plowing a path during Tuesday’s blizzard that may have saved a life.
Police say that emergency responders were dispatched on Tuesday afternoon to Glendale Street to attend to someone who had a “major medical emergency” while removing snow.
“The heroes in this incident were not the first responders, but in fact the Easthampton DPW!” Easthampton Chief of Police Robert Alberti wrote in a Facebook post. “While first responders were administering life support measures to the patient, the DPW on their own accord, came to the scene multiple trucks deep to help out.”
“They cleared a path, from the residence where first responders were attempting to save a life, to the nearest main roadway … ” Alberti wrote.
But for Easthampton Director of Public Works Joseph Pipczynski, that kind of work is just “run of the mill stuff.”
“This has happened numerous times over the last 30 years that I’ve been here,” Pipczynski told the Gazette. “It’s something that the guys are aware of and it’s something the guys know they got to jump right on, and they did it.”
“We didn’t even have to ask,” Easthampton Police Officer Chad Alexander said, adding that the incident speaks to the level of cooperation between the police and DPW.
“If we ever need them, we’re a tight-knit community and all of our departments are helping each other out,” Alexander said. “Anybody that works for our department, the fire department, DPW, they’ll tell you this is the best place in the world to work.”