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by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com Published 9:22pm Hover over Photos to see Locations and Photo Credit Click on Photo to Enlarge  Big Piece Road at Dell Court, Fairfield PHOTO: Mark Andrew Bilhuber  WEST ESSEX, NJ - Late Tuesday afternoon, West Essex was slammed with a storm so strong that many have questioned if we had a tornado come through the area. While some areas of New York did see tornados touch down, West Essex experienced a brief, but incredibly powerful, Squall with Whole Gale, Category 10, 66mph Winds, which was followed up by equally damaging Thunderstorms. The violently intense onset was reported by NOAA's Fairfield Weather Station as a Squall - which they define as a "sudden violent gust of wind or a localized storm" - and it began in West Essex at 4:44pm, followed by Thunderstorms which continued until 6:01pm. In this very short period of time, the Winds, Lightning, and Rain caused a huge amount of damage around the West Essex area. What follows is a timeline of incidents chronicled as they were reported (not as they occured) to which Police, Fire and DPW crews responded and worked tirelessly to clean up for days: Tuesday, May 15 4:44pm
4:46pm
4:49pm
4:50pm
4:51pm
4:55pm
 Stewart Road, Essex Fells PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley 5pm
5:02pm
5:04pm
 Grandview Avenue by Sunset Drive, North Caldwell PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley 5:11pm
5:14pm
 Cedars Road near Washburn Place, Caldwell PHOTO: Chris Wysocki 5:16pm
 Campbell Road at Bodkin Road, Fairfield PHOTO: Bonnie Kamochi 5:18pm
5:24pm
 Passaic Avenue across from Essex County Airport, Fairfield PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley  Passaic Avenue across from Essex County Airport, Fairfield PHOTO: Fiona Curley 5:27pm
5:31pm
 Williamsburg Drive, Roseland PHOTO: Michele Madia Valeriani 5:32pm
5:33pm
5:35pm
5:36pm
5:37pm
5:39pm
5:41pm
5:42pm
5:44pm
Police begin welfare checks of residences, including homes where children are on their own. 5:45pm
5:48pm
5:51pm
5:52pm
5:55pm
 Roseland Methodist Church, Eagle Rock Avenue PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley  Roseland Methodist Church, Eagle Rock Avenue PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley 5:59pm Roseland: Eagle Rock Avenue, Methodist Church
 Midvale Avenue near Esposito Drive, Fairfield PHOTO: Mark Andrew Bilhuber 6:04pm
6:08pm
6:12pm
6:14pm
6:16pm
6:20pm
 Hamilton Drive South by Woodland Place, North Caldwell PHOTO: Lisa Margolis Goldstein 6:22pm
6:25pm
 Alan Drive, Fairfield PHOTO: Lisa Pitera Pasternak 6:26pm
 Gazebo from lower deck landed upside down on upper deck, Lane Avenue, Caldwell PHOTO: Janna Smith 6:29pm
6:30pm
6:39pm
6:41pm
7:02pm
 Kennedy Drive, Fairfield PHOTO: Fairfield Police 7:06pm
7:23pm
7:31pm
7:55pm
8:04pm
8:12pm
8:18pm
By the end of the Storm, over 90 streets which included hundreds of residents, were without power:
by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com Published 6:41pm  From left: Verona Police Chief Chris Keirnan, Detective Sergeant Timothy Banta, Mayor Kevin Ryan, Sheriff Armando Fontoura PHOTO: Kevin Lynch VERONA, NJ - Yesterday, the 200 Club of Essex County presented their Valor Award to Verona Police Detective Sergeant Timmy Banta for his role in protecting his fellow officers, and a woman in crisis, from any harm while he himself suffered injuries. On Jan. 3, 2017, the woman called Verona Police from her Bloomfield Avenue residence saying: Get the fire department ready. According to police, when the Verona Police officers responded, Banta immediately took charge of the scene and forced open the locked door of the woman's apartment. Inside, the officers found that the woman had severed the gas line from her stove, turned the hose into a flame thrower, and was armed with a knife. While she strongly resisted, Banta managed to subdue the woman while the other officers evacuated the building. During the struggle, the woman lunged at Banta with a knife and he suffered injuries. 200 Club Trustee Sheriff Armando Fontoura stated: Throughout this life-threatening incident Banta was ultimately able to take the woman into custody and escort her downstairs to safety and much needed psychological attention. 200 Club of Essex County
Its sole purpose is to help provide for dependents of police and firefighters in Essex County and state troopers in New Jersey who lose their lives in the line of duty by way of a cash stipend to the surviving spouse or dependent with no conditions and by providing educational assistance to each surviving child prior to its 26th birthday. Annually, The Club holds a Valor Awards luncheon where it pays tribute to a number of brave Essex County police officers, Essex County firefighters and NJ State Troopers who distinguished themselves by acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty. The Valor Award recipients receive a cash award, an engraved medallion, and a 200 Club Valor ribbon to be worn on their uniform. |
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