Kalamazoo County, Mich. – After the 193 car pile up on I-94, crews are still on the scene trying to figure out how to turn chaos into order.
Multiple agencies are working together, using Kalamazoo County’s, Mobile Operations Center.
David Schneider, Assistant Emergency Manager, said the mobile command center is home base for many agencies trying to clear the scene on I-94. It’s been a place where the head’s of agencies are coming face-to-face, dealing with the issues at hand. It’s improved communication through agencies, allowing for the pileup to be cleaned in a timely manner.
“We don’t have to use it a lot but when we do it’s really helpful,” said Schneider. “Otherwise, these guys would try and operate out of the backseats of cruisers or the back of a fire truck.”
Both directions of the freeway were still closed Saturday morning after Friday’s pile up, where mangled cars and semis were waiting to be towed off the road. 133 vehicles in the West bound lane, and 60 headed east.
Heavy traffic built up on secondary roads after police blocked off major ramp ways bordering the crash zone. But State police said another problem Saturday morning halted the towing of vehicles.
LT. DAVE WOOD, MICHIGAN STATE POLICE/ COLDWATER POST
“There is a truck on the East bound lane that has hazardous materials in it,” said LT. Dave Wood, Michigan State Police. “The crews that were attempting to offload the hazardous materials were unable to do so in the dark.
They waited for sunlight to unload a heavy load of formic acid. With a low flash point, officials were forced to remove the acid first, making sure the scene was safe before they continued towing vehicles.
State police say after all vehicles are towed, MDOT will come and clean the interstate of debris. They want to make sure the roads are safe and ready for travel
