Rensselear County joins Buffalo relief efforts

When a blizzard in Erie County knocked out power for thousands and blanketed streets in snow, Rensselaer County Executive Steven McLaughlin says the county was ready to help with recovery efforts.

“They’re used to 5-foot blizzards, but they’re not used to 5-foot blizzards with 80 mph winds and massive blackouts. So it was a pretty devastating situation,” he said.

Doug Pinzer wanted to volunteer with all medical needs and clear the roads. But with so much snow, the team was grateful to be able to use navigation maps.

“The navigation was excellent because a lot of the open roads … were shown, so we know where to go,” Pinzer said. “Maybe we went an hour late [the] way from where we needed to be.”

McLaughlin was pleased to see many counties across the state helping with the recovery effort.

“They came from all over, Nassau County sent stuff, Marc Molinaro sent stuff from Duchess County…Onondaga County had a few counterparts with our guys out there. So it was really many, many, many counties that helped get them back on their feet.

Eric Cullum is also one of the volunteers and was happy to help.

“I think our greatest achievement was supporting the teams that were working there,” said Cullum. “They knew we had their backs, and if it got too much for them, we were there to help.”

The latest update from Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz shows 42 reported deaths from the storm, 41 in Erie County and 1 in Niagra County. The medical examiner’s office also announced today that more deaths may be confirmed as more cases are reviewed.