LINCROFT, NJ – Immediately following Hurricane Sandy landfall, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and local and state authorities, identified critical locations that needed temporary emergency power.
The generators are not like those you can purchase at a local do-it-yourself store. They range in size from a large freezer to a full-size recreational vehicle.
In New Jersey USACE installed 102 emergency generators between Oct. 31 and Nov. 19 at critical public facilities to provide life-saving power to 9-1-1 centers, police and fire stations and medical facilities; life-sustaining facilities such as shelters, water and wastewater treatment and pumping facilities; and other municipal facilities required to reinstitute local command and control and post-event recovery.
When power was restored to those locations and the generators were no longer needed, USACE started the process of returning the generators to storage.
As of Nov. 28, 90 generators had been de-installed and returned to the staging area on Naval Engineering Station No. 547 in Lakehurst, N.J., where they are being serviced and prepared for return to storage in FEMA distribution centers to await the next disaster.
The remaining 12 generators may remain at installation sites for another 60 days or until no longer needed. The goal is to have all generators not needed returned to storage by Dec. 3.
“Any generators that remain on-site will be transferred to the contractor who will provide their fueling and maintenance until they are no longer needed,” said Jason Allmon, the USACE temporary emergency power specialist managing the mission. “We’re working around the clock to process all the generators by our deadline.”
Release no. 12-045