BALTIMORE COUNTY — The White Marsh Volunteer Fire Company may have the highest call volume in the county, but bad weather last week kept them busier than usual.
Rachael Klein, director of public relations, described last Wednesday into Thursday as "chaotic."
"Unfortunately, sometimes you have a car accident and because we're working on the scene with that car accident and you get the backup of traffic then another car accident will happen in the near vicinity," she said.
The first reported crash took place on Philadelphia Road at White Marsh Boulevard at 6:15 a.m.
Then, a crash on Pulaski Highway at Middle River Road was reported several hours later.
From there, the calls just kept on coming over the next 24 hours. The company responded to nine total crashes, nearly half on I-95.
On Thursday, there were three additional wrecks on that same stretch of highway, culminating in a fiery crash that injured two and brought traffic to a halt.
"Unfortunately, that day it did have to do with the weather conditions in terms of rain and fog," Klein said.
Drivers like Charles Marie got wind of the reported crashes and traffic jams on the radio.
"I got home as quick as I could and refused to go out again," Marie said.
It's the small details that can prevent the big issues, Klein says, especially this time of year when people are preparing for the holidays.
Marie says he has little things he makes sure to do everyday, like leaving early, leaving enough space between him and other cars and making a habit of signaling, to stay safe behind the wheel.
"There's always somebody that's an idiot, late for work, didn't allow enough time to get to where he wanted to go, so he's in a hurry," he said. "Never put yourself in a panic situation and understand that if it's cold or it's starting to get cold, the roads are ice and drive that way."
During bad weather, Klein says you should always have your lights and wipers on.
It's also a good rule of thumb to make sure all parts of your car are always in working order and to drive without distractions.
"If you can prevent any little bit of a piece of that chain reaction then you're not hopefully going to end up in a car accident and have us show up to help you," she said.
The White Marsh Volunteer Fire Company sees an annual volume of about 2,900 calls for service.
