Since the start of Sunday, Jeff O’Leary said the Bexar-Bulverde Volunteer Fire Department phones have been steadily ringing.
“Yes,” said O’Leary, a battalion chief for the department. “That’s kinda what we’re preparing for.”
With winter weather already coming in, the Bexar-Bulverde Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) said it has transitioned from preparing to responding. And they’re not alone. Cities and towns stretching from San Antonio through the Hill Country say they’re ready to respond.
“We know what our neighbors are doing and so we’re all aligned and understanding of what’s happening,” said Chris Shadrock, the communications director for the city of Boerne.
Preparations for most of these county and city departments started a week ago, winterizing utility equipment, stocking up on extra resources and planning for emergencies.
“We made sure that everything was good to go across our stations for emergency response,” said O’Leary, the battalion chief for Bexar-Bulverde VFD. “There’s a lot of things over the course of the 2021 storm that we learned and moving forward hopefully we’re more prepared.”
He said lessons learned from 2021 have led to increased action in 2024.
On Sunday, the Bexar-Bulverde Volunteer Fire Department equipped their fire trucks with snow chains to help crews drive through icy conditions if they come — this as TxDOT pretreated roads across South Central Texas to help with possible ice accumulation.
“We started going through the stations and making sure any station with propane tanks, that the levels were good,” O’Leary said. “Making sure we have access with our trucks and that they have the snow chains and cables to respond appropriately when the time comes.”
But for Boerne officials, as the weather worsens, the concern lies in utility capabilities.
“The big issue is gonna be the pipes if someone hasn’t prepared their home,” Shadrock said. “It’s been all across the city and across our utility department just getting everything ready for another cold spell.”
The biggest recommendation from both of these departments and cities is to stay home if you don’t have to drive over the next couple of days.
“Stay in and stay with your family,” O’Leary said. “Make sure your phones and communication devices are charged, and everyone has their medications that they need hopefully medication-wise.”
Some Hill Country school districts have already announced closures and delays due to the freeze. To see the list, click here.
