BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Erie County has quietly released its findings on a survey of county department heads on what could have been done better and where the system fell short, but County Executive Mark Poloncarz said this is not an official report like the ones conducted by the state and the City of Buffalo.
The once-in-a-generation storm took a total of 46 lives in Erie County.
Through whipping winds and whiteout conditions, Bob Nemeth, road team manager with MERJ Fleet Services, said his crew was working nonstop during the Christmas blizzard.
"Very excruciating couple of days for the guys and everyone involved," Nemeth said.
In the recently released internal memos from Erie County department heads, one department leader noted drivers took to the roads during driving bans, causing havoc for crews like MERJ.
The Western New York-based emergency roadside assistance company used heavy-duty equipment to clear hundreds of abandoned vehicles.
"Basically after that was done, set in place, it was basically clear the road and get everybody off and get their cars into a safe place," Nemeth said.
Other department heads mentioned, in the 50-page partially redacted document, other issues and improvements the county needs to make moving forward.
The 858-SNOW line was implemented to address non-emergency calls, but some memos note many calls were far too serious for this line and there should've been better training. One report shares the line was overwhelmed and there was no way to anticipate the volume of calls.
Another key finding was regarding concerns over DLAN, the emergency response network used by the county. There was mention of a need for regular and ongoing training for this software. Some used it so infrequently that county employees forgot their password and login information.
Erie County Republican Committee Chairman Michael Kracker blasted the Poloncarz after he said the memo was quietly released on a Friday afternoon.
"There needs to be a serious transparent effort to show that the county has learned from this crisis and that we can count on our leaders to protect us in the future," Kracker said, "These are terribly frustrating. I mean some of these things are simple issues that could have been resolved that may have saved lives but again it's also something that speaks to why it's so important that this be released publicly and with some time for people to actually digest and engage and figure out how to help."
In a statement days before the release of the memo, Poloncarz said he's been fully transparent about shortcomings and challenges from the blizzard response and his team is taking action to better respond to future winter events. 7 News requested an interview with Poloncarz but was told he was out of the office.
You can find the internal memos here.