(Clarification) Fire Chief: Five Towners Who Stay Are "On Their Own"

Clarification: The original version of this story failed to mention that first responder departments cannot respond to calls if wind speeds exceed 55 MPH under a government mandate.

Any Five Towns residents that choose to ignore the call to evacuate are on their own if wind speeds exceed 55 MPH during the hurricane, said the chief of the .

“We can’t put our members in harm’s way to rescue people that refuse to heed the warning and mandatory evacuation,” said Chief Joseph Sperber.

The county issued a mandatory evacuation order by 5 p.m. Saturday for anyone living south of Sunrise Highway from the Queens border to Rockville Centre and south of Merrick Avenue from Rockville Centre to the Suffolk border.

The worst flood conditions are expected for the Five Towns area, said Sperber, who added that members of the fire department are mobilized in the fortified firehouse for the duration of the storm. Anyone that does decide to stay behind should stay on the highest ground as possible and “hope for the best.”