By: Maria- Paula

The Henrico County’s Police and Fire divisions have this week jointly responded to over 500 calls following winter storms in Richmond.

On Wednesday as a winter storm delivered sleet and icy rain across central Virginia, residents called for service between midnight and 2:30pm. The calls reported incidents such as multiple downed utility lines and instances of traffic light outages.

Following power outages across the commonwealth, police officers who were dispatched to 110 traffic crashes and 243 utility problems are reminding motorists that an intersection without a functioning traffic signal is to be treated as a four-way stop.

Traffic lights flashing red should be treated as a stop sign while traffic lights flashing yellow mean drivers should proceed through the intersection with caution.
Firefighters also responded to at least four trees that had fallen into houses and 96 electrical hazards by 2:30 p.m of Wednesday.

“We can’t overstate that you should never approach a downed line. It’s best to always assume downed wires are hot wires so the hazard can be addressed safely,” said Fire Chief Jackson Baynard.  
      
As Baynard reported no significant weather-related injuries, the fire chief said those affected can Call 911 or call Dominion Power 1-866-DOM-HELP or 1-866-366-4357 for help.