WFAA: essential workers feeling brunt of ice storm

Reporting by Teresa Woodard, WFAA | February 1, 2023
Read the full story on WFAA.com

PLANO, Texas — Big weather events like what's happening in North Texas this week has city, county, and state departments making major adjustments to staffing. 

Departments have to work smarter to staff essential personnel during this ice storm.

"This is not a remote job. It's about being prepared, we're all about preparation here," said Susan Carr, director of 9-1-1 Safety Communications for the City of Plano. 

Dispatching during an ice storm is essential work and it comes at a cost.

"I'm hoping to leave tomorrow, it just depends on the roads," said Quanise Thomas, who left home Monday and hasn't returned to her two children.

For her, it's not safe to drive 20 miles home to Fate each and every day, especially during icy road conditions. She stayed overnight in the department's "Quiet Room". 

Others in the department have made similar arrangements. One essential employee brought in an air-mattress and has a to-go bag packed with the intention of staying for a while.

"I have food to last for a week, my clothes to last for a week, and my blanket," said Thomas.

First responders and essential workers feel the brunt of the storm. 

Many of those essential workers are highly visible but some prefer to remain quietly unseen.

SafeHaven of Tarrant County has had about 10 staffers sleeping on cots and air mattresses in offices at its Arlington and Fort Worth shelters for domestic violence victims. 

“Our doors are always open. Someone is always answering our hotline. We’re always here,” said Nichole Henry, Chief Services Officer for SafeHaven of Tarrant County. 

Henry said the staffers arrived on Monday and might be able to head back home Thursday.

“They are heroes, she said. “Essential, necessary, needed, in demand.”

Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth also has temporary sleeping quarters set up for hospital staff who cannot or choose not to venture out onto icy roads.

Public works departments, police, fire, dispatch, and other city personnel are essential to the safety and security of the public. During these tough times, they'll see extended hours, personal sacrifices and smart decisions.

"We want to make sure we're using our resources to our best advantage," said Interim McKinney Fire Chief Paul Dow. 

In McKinney all med units normally staffed with two personnel will have a third firefighter-paramedic. Dow told WFAA the third staffer can be of real help in the event a patient needs to be put on a gurney and treated. 

The chief said responding in ice is tough work. 

Also, this change in the staffing model keeps the biggest fire engines at bay ready for the biggest calls.

"They're big and heavy and if we can keep them off the road, that's better for everybody," said Dow.

Adjustments like this are being made across the county. A Frisco city spokeswoman told WFAA they booked 20 rooms at a nearby hotel for essential staff.

Thomas hopes to return home Thursday. But it all depends on the roads. And nobody knows the roads like the person who takes the calls from people stranded on them.

"When I signed on, that was a part of the job. I gotta [sic] do what I have to do," she said.