Boone County Joint Communications at full staff for ice storm

As the first ice storm of 2017 moves into mid-Missouri, Boone County Joint Communications called in a full staff to handle the calls.

According to dispatch records, they handled about 70 calls as of 4 p.m. Friday. The most common call was for a medical response.

Joint Communications wants to remind residents not to call 911 to report a power outage. As of 4 p.m. there were no reported outages in mid-Missouri, but if someone were to lose electricity, they should call their respective power company.

Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop F is also “all hands on deck” for the weekend storm. Sgt. Scott White told ABC 17 News the troopers are working in two shifts, a day and evening shift, until the storm passes.

White said he hoped this storm was forecast enough in advance to keep people off the roads.

“Back in December when we had that ice, we had a lot of people out on the roadways, and that was probably one of the busiest days we’ve had for Troop F,” White said. “We probably worked more than 1,100 calls and 400 crashes.”

While the Highway Patrol is urging people to stay off the roads, White said they recognize there are some situations where people will have to venture out on the roads. He said his troopers are ready.

“A lot of the troopers carry around bags of salt in their vehicles, not only to add weight but to also hit those spots that may be icy they need to get to sometimes,” White said. “We’re just like everybody else out there, we need to go slow and be as safe as we can because we realize there are going to be people out there occasionally on the highways. And if they end up crashing or sliding off into the ditch then that’s where we come in.”

White also said if a person is involved in a crash or slide-off, the safest place for that person to be is in their car with their seat belt on.

“During bad weather, multiple vehicles often crash or slide off the roadways in the exact same location,” White said. “So if you’re walking around your vehicle, your chances of being killed is much greater than if you were inside your vehicle.”