Winslow 2016 4th of July Celebration Pros Cons from a Public Safety Perspective
by Michael Heavener

On Tuesday, July 5, 2016, i met with Police Chief Shawn O?Leary, Police Lieutenant Joshua Veilieux, Fire
Chief David LaFountain and Deputy Fire Chief Charles Theobald, Sr. Town Councilor Kenneth Fletcher
attended the meeting and Parks 8i Rec Director Jim Bourgoin was late joining the meeting.

Pros 8: Cons
July 3'd Street Dance

3:93
1. Everything went well. There were no Public Safety issues.

2. The of July Committee provided all of the required resources.


None
July Parade

Pros
1. Most Everything went well.

2. UTV (side-by?side) donated by Trailside was very helpful in moving resources from one portion
of the parade route to another.

3. The ofJuly Committee took care of placing a Porto-Potty at the town office.
Cons
1. There were problems with Police Communication primarily due to staff fatigue

2. Parade participants who tried to return while the parade was continuing created some
confusion. Some spectators thought the parade had ended when it had not.

July - Evening 8; Fireworks (it is estimated that 40,000 spectators were in the park and another
30,000 in the vicinity of the park.)

Pros

The increased police presence left some feeling the police were better prepared than in prior
years.

2. Teams of Police Of?cers were rotated in and around the park which resulted in positive
comments by the local businesses. it is also believed that this rotation gave the impression of a
greater police presence which may have contributed to fewer alcohol related incidences.

3. The pedestrian movement pattern into the park worked well because visitors were funneled to
one entry point.

4. The of July Committee provided all of the requested resources.

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Cons

1. Venue was too small to accommodate all who wanted to attend. At one point visitors who
entered the park turned around and exited because there was no place to sit or stand.

2. Due to the rotating teams of police of?cers, at times there were only two of?cers in the park.
Solution Add two additional of?cers.

3. Due to the placement of vendors in the Park there was a high concentration of people in one
general area with only one narrow means of egress in the event of an emergency. This situation
is very concerning.

4. Due to the limited capacity of the park to accommodate all of those who wanted to attend the
fireworks display. a crowd of spectators were forced into the street and onto the bridge,
resulting in the closure of Rt. 201. The crowd of spectators would likely hinder the movement of
public safety equipment In and around the park, including Rt. 201.

5. Due to the anticipated gridlock in the vicinity of the park and Rt. 201, area Fire Departments
were asked to be available in the event they were needed in Winslow.

6. Winslow Police Officers were fatigued and exhausted by the evening of the because they had
worked the street dance the night before, as well as their regularly scheduled shifts. in one
instance an of?cer only received three (3) hours of rest between the two days. Solution ?Seek
additional police officers from other organizations to replace Winslow Officers to give them
more time to rest. (Note: 3 O?'icers out of 11 worked July .El?if until 10:30 PM, and returned the
following morning to work the July 4th parade, afternoon details, and into the evening until
approximately 11:00 PM. Two (2) Officers worked their regular schedule shift on the 3rd, and
returned to duty on the for afternoon details and fireworks.)

Conclusion

The Town has sufficient resources to safely manage the Street Dance the night before the and the
Parade on the day of the 

The Fort Halifax Park, however, is not a suf?cient venue for the fireworks display because it cannot
accommodate all of those who wish to attend. The resulting closure of Rt. 201 to accommodate the
overflow of spectators would likely hinder the ability to move public safety equipment in the vicinity of
the park and Rt. 201. in addition, the spectator congestion on the bridge could also delay emergency
response to all of "South Winslow? and ?East Winslow?.

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