Crime & Safety

Police: Be Safe, Stay Home

If the storm gets bad enough, emergency responders may be slowed down—so stay off the roads and out of harm's way if you can.

Moorestown Police Sgt. Lee Lieber, the township's emergency management coordinator, warned that, as storm conditions worsen, it may become more difficult for emergency personnel to respond to potential emergencies. 

Wind gusts up to 50 mph—or even higher—are expected at the height of the storm, which naturally makes it more difficult for emergency responders to do their job. 

"At a certain point, you have to weigh the lives of the first responders," said Lieber. "There's going to become a certain period of time where it's going to be dangerous for our first responders ... That's why we don't want people going out."

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Translation: Stay home—unless you have no other choice.

There are state guidelines in place that dictate emergency response protocols during emergencies, Lieber explained.

Find out what's happening in Moorestownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"It's not going to be the norm that we can't respond," he added, "but we don't want people to unduly put themselves in harm's way."

As of earlier this afternoon, Lieber said the department had received calls for a couple downed trees, but nothing serious.

"We've been fortunate so far; there hasn't been much of an impact. But we don't want people to let their guard down," he said.

Visit our Hurricane Sandy topic page for all the latest news on the storm. 

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