Last modified: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 12:08 AM EST Cars sit in traffic on County Street in Attleboro on Thursday afternoon. Local chiefs say the storm points to a need for greater disaster preparedness among the public. (Staff photo by TOM MAGUIRE) 'What if there was a real calamity?' BY RICK FOSTER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF For drivers, Thursday's swirling snows were a bad dream that doomed thousands to interminable waits in traffic, turning normal one-hour commutes into four-hour odysseys. But what if instead of a moderate late fall snowstorm, motorists had been fleeing a bona fide disaster, such as a blizzard, hurricane or nuclear power plant accident? That's one of the questions troubling emergency response officials and disaster planners in the wake of two unremarkable winter storms that largely immobilized the area. "It that's what we do in a December snowstorm, which is not that uncommon in New England, what if there was a real calamity?" North Attleboro Fire Chief Peter Lamb said. Attleboro Fire Chief Ronald Churchill said the icy gridlock that struck much of Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island reinforced his concerns about the practicality of evacuating large numbers of people in the face of threatening storms or man-made events. Churchill says that in many instances, city residents might be better off hunkering down at home or in a local shelter than trying to travel long distances on short notice along heavily congested emergency routes. "If you have a mandatory evacuation, say on the Cape, and all those people are coming our way, where are we going to go?" Churchill said. Last Thursday, traffic slowed to a frozen halt along most major routes both because of weather conditions and large numbers of people leaving work and school at about the same time. Gov. Deval Patrick felt compelled to defend the state's storm response last week, blaming much of the problem on businesses and workers for not going home early enough in advance of the storm. All communities have evacuation routes specified in their local Community Emergency Response Plan, which also covers other disaster responses including locations for group shelters. Although snow might not be a factor in an evacuation scenario, the chiefs say many of the problems that arose during Thursday's storm might be repeated. Clogged highways could slow traffic down to a crawl, and long transit times could further snarl traffic as vehicles began to run out of fuel. Emergency crews would be severely handicapped in trying to reach accident victims or medical emergencies because of solid walls of cars. Planners say the difficulty of moving large numbers of people along marked evacuation routes means that additional attention needs to be focused on alternatives - particularly sheltering at home. "Plan A is to protect in place," said Norton fire Chief John Gomes, who added that a large-scale evacuation would be an alternative. Cities and towns designate routes that will be followed in an evacuation in their local response plan. Norton's evacuation plan would avoid use of major interstate highways, instead moving evacuees north using local roads. Shelters for residents and those traveling through the community would also be part of the mix. Chiefs said last week's storm points up a need for greater disaster preparedness among the public, both at home and at work. During the Blizzard of '78, officials noted, thousands of people became stranded at work, at transit stations and in their cars often without warm clothing, food or means of communication. A modest amount of foresight could address some of those threats, Lamb said, by keeping a small amount of emergency supplies in a car or a supply of needed medicine at work. "It gets down to, if you rely on a cell phone, do you keep a spare charger in the car?" Lamb said. Regarding home shelters, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommends that households maintain an emergency supply of food, water, medicine and other essentials sufficient for a 72-hour period. For recommendations on what an emergency kit should contain, visit http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html RICK FOSTER can be reached at 508-236-0360 or at rfoster@thesunchronicle.com.