Officials describe rapid response after recent Monroe Township storms

Lieutenant Sergei Jangles walked viewers through two contrasting recent incidents to illustrate how the township responds. He said the February snowstorm allowed "several days to plan with our community partners" but that a recent summer thunderstorm gave officials only about an hour to move from forecast to action. "As soon as we got the forecast, about an hour prior to it happening, we were immediately in contact with the chief, our Greg Slavochek from DPW," Jangles said, describing rapid coordination to prepare crews for downed trees and power outages.

Chief Griffin Banos credited long-standing working relationships across departments and with county and state partners for enabling fast action: "We can pick up the phone... we pretty much know what everyone's doing before they do it." Officials said DPW crews cleared debris, police and fire secured dangerous intersections and utility partners restored power for affected residents; Lieutenant Jangles noted that decisions about road closures and school operations were coordinated with county and state contacts.