Salem 'Very Lucky' Sandy Wasn't Worse

If you had on your scanner yesterday or you followed our live blog, you know that our emergency personnel were slammed Monday afternoon as they handled calls related to damage from Hurricane Sandy.

We checked in with Salem Fire Chief David Cody on Tuesday morning. Though things were busy, the chief said "overall it [the response to the storm] went well. We're very lucky we didn't get it any worse."

The department responded to 100 calls in 24 hours, according to the Chief. 

"Most were general calls for wires down and wires arcing," the Chief said, adding that the Salem Fire Department worked closely with the Salem Police Department and the Salem Department of Public Works during the storm. 

Cody also said National Grid was very responsive and cooperated with Salem's emergency personnel. 

National Grid and Verizon are still working to handle scattered outages, according to the Chief.

Additionally, Cody said, together with Capt. Dennis Levasseur, he documented damage in Salem which FEMA will review to asses whether Salem meets the threshold for assistance.

Salem's boats were also subject to a nasty beating from the storms.

Ward 5 Councilor Josh Turiel wrote the following on his Facebook Page Tuesday morning:

"Driving through the ward right now to inspect waterfront damage. DPW crews are inventorying the tree limbs in preparation for removal. The barge that washed up at Forest River Park has worked its way down the beach in the night but is still there. The Rockmore is stable on the seawall at 437 Lafayette St. A crane will be removing the boat on Green Street at high tide today. I will post further updates when I get them."