It was confirmed this week that five Livingston Police Department vehicles, two Livingston Fire Department vehicles, and two Department of Public Works vehicles sustained damage when the remnants of Hurricane Ida ravaged Livingston on Wednesday evening, September 1.According to Police Chief Gary Marshuetz, four LPD vehicles were damaged as a result of flooding. A marked patrol car, which had been parked at the township garage, sustained irreparable damage when Canoe Brook overflowed its banks. Three Detective Bureau vehicles which were parked in the parking lot at the Municipal Services and Police Building also sustained flooding damage because of the brook.A fifth Police Department vehicle, a marked patrol car, was damaged when an officer responding to a call drove through flood waters near the 7-Eleven store on South Livingston Avenue.Both patrol cars, said Chief Marshuetz, were confirmed total losses. The three Detective Bureau cars are also believed to be beyond repair, he said. “We were fortunate in that these were older vehicles, not primary, first-line cars,” he said. “However, that doesn’t change the fact that we are short of cars now.”Also deemed a total loss was a Fire Department SUV driven by Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Francione. The Chevy Tahoe was carried away by floodwaters during the rescue of a woman trapped inside her car in flood waters on East Hobart Gap Road. Another Livingston Fire Department SUV experienced ignition problems in the wake of the storm, but has since been repaired and returned to service, Fire Chief Chris Mullin said.In addition, two Department of Public Works vehicles had been damaged during the storm, a dump truck and a car, said deputy township manager Russell Jones.Jones reported that the township has filed insurance claims for all the vehicles; those claims are still pending.Water in Canoe Brook has to rise at least ten feet above normal levels to flood the municipal complex parking lot, and even higher to affect vehicles parked there.
