Politics & Government

UPDATE Mayor: Manassas Park Emergency Operations Center Open

Emergency officials, other city personnel are all working at the EOC at the Manassas Park Police station.

Manassas Park's state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center is now activated and staffed, Frank Jones, the city's mayor said Monday morning.

The center, located in the the Manassas Park Police Station on Manassas Drive, is the command center for city personnel in emergency situations.

The numbers to the EOC are: 703-335-8800 and 703-361-1136. 

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The lines are being answered by city employees and CERT volunteers, Manassas Park city manager James "Jim" Zumwalt said.

If the first number doesn't answer after five rings, city officials recommend using the latter number, which is the Manassas Park Police Department non-emergency line.

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Manassas Park Fire Chief James Dixon and Fire Marshal Mark Joyner along with Police Chief John Evans,Zumwalt, public works director Jay Johnson, city clerk to council Lana Conner and Councilman Preston Banks are all in the command center, Jones said.

 City public works employees and police are on standby.  If the water gets high enough, police will block street and reroute traffic, Zumwalt said.

 Emergency response employees who do not live in or near the city are bunking down in the police station and a house adjacent to public works building on Manassas Drive, he added.

If other places lose power, the command center will run using a generator. 

The electric briefly went out along Evans Street in Manassas Park, because of a problem with a nearby transformer, the mayor said.

The problem is fixed and power was restored by Northern Virginia Electric Coopertive crews.

Mason “Skip” Hollcroft, manager of NOVEC’s line technicians and tree crews, said extra crews from Maryland, South Carolina and North Carolina are here nd ready to work, but their safety is priority. 

"We can’t send men up in bucket trucks if the winds are strong. It’s just too dangerous," Hollcroft said. "We ask for everyone who loses power to be patient. We’ll get the lights back on as soon as it’s safe.”

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If you can do so safely, snap a weather picture and post it here on Patch or email it to Jamie.Rogers@patch.com


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