BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The weight of this storm is being felt by everyone.
"It's some of the worst conditions that our public works department and sheriff deputies have ever faced," said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
With driveways, sidewalks and cars all buried deep under layers of snow. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz is urging everyone to bring safety back up to the surface.
"You have to shovel smart because cardiac events, heart attacks are always occurring in these situations," said Poloncarz. "Unfortunately, we appear to have lost our first two county residents as a result of that.
"It can be very very dangerous for some individuals, people who have high blood pressure, people who have any type of cardiac history to go out and shovel the snow," said Dr. Gale R. Burstein. "The combination of the cold weather and the extra exertion of the force that you're using to try and shovel the snow is too much for somebody's heart."
Burstein said finding a young person in your neighborhood can help.
It's not just snow on the ground you have to worry about, it's the snow on the roof too.
"This is very concerning because we've already got our first report of a building collapse in the Town of Hamburg," said Poloncarz. "We're starting to see some other issues because of the heavy wet snow."
Werner Roofing's Noah Gaco said you should get snow on the roof removed to avoid a build up of weight and the risk of it caving in on itself or your family.
Another cause for concern is power outages.
"Many people unfortunately are going to be losing their heat during this storm and they may have generators to keep the lights on which is great," said Burstein. "However we have to be very very careful because generators exhausts contain carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a gas that is tasteless odorless and deadly."
Burstein says you'll only know if this gas is in your home is if the carbon monoxide detector goes off or someone becomes ill. The safest place to run a generator is at least 20 feet from your house, windows or doors. While the weight of this storm may seem heavier than ever, it doesn't mean you have to carry it alone.
"I could reassure you this," said John Garcia, Erie County Sheriff. "If you need help call 911. We are working with our partners in all the towns, villages, city, state. We'll get someone out there."
