b'28 BUF TERMINALSTop Dog crews also helped Signature Flight Servicessnow. Injecting the air forcefully causes agitation, which speeds employees dig out and melt snow at their facilities.up the melting process. Melted snow drains out of the tank In 19 years, weve always been able to dig ourselves out,through a gravity-fed overflow tube and into stormwater drains.Evaldi says. But not this time. The neat thing about the design is that theres nothing Todd Dickerson, owner, president and chiefmechanical involved in the melting process. Its essentially just executive officer of Top Dog, reports that hishot air, MacEachern remarks. There are no augurs that can get crews worked around the clock for about 86clogged up.hours. They strategically stationed one melter by the airport parking lots, another by theHigh Praise for Weathering the Stormmain ramp and another by the taxiways. All officials interviewed about the blizzard response expressed deep gratitude for the dedication and diligence of their employeesWe melted a little less than 50,000 tons ofand also cite them as a major reason why no lives were lost at or snow, he relates. TODD DICKERSON around the airport.Dickerson says that snow melters are oneIm very proud of my staff, Guarino stresses. They risked of the most efficient ways to remove snow,their lives to save others, then had to remove all that snow to especially from ramp areas where there isreopen the airport. Their efforts leave me speechless.not much room to pile up large amounts of plowed snow. David MacEachern, salesMy staff went above and beyond the call of duty, saysmanager for Trecan, reports that a TrecanMajor. But if you ask them, theyll tell you they were just doing 135-PD unit can melt the equivalent of 25their jobs.tandem-axle dump trucks full of snow in justDAVID MACEACHERNEmployees also demonstrated emotional warmth amid their an hour.stressful duty. For instance, firefighters scrounged up a doughnut In short, the machines use water and heated air to melt snow.and candle from the fire station to create a birthday cake for a Crews load snow into the machines tank, which is filled aboutstranded teenager. And when Assistant Fire Chief Eberth learned 60% full of water; heated air is injected to warm the mixture tothat a young boy was concerned Santa wouldnt be able to find temperatures between 35 F and 39 Fjust enough to melt thehim, he asked airfield staff to help. They got gifts from a retail store at the terminal and delivered them to the fire station, where Eberth and crewmembers wrapped them and placed them under the stations Christmas tree for the boy. Evaldi thinks Guarino deserves a reward for the way he and his team responded. Signature is blessed to work with such an outstanding and experienced staff, he says. Joel and his people never worried about themselves, they just worried abouteveryone else.Dickerson praised the cooperation cultivated by Guarino and his employees. It was really refreshing to work as a team during a very difficult time, he remarks. There were no egos involved. Everyone just worked together to get the job done safely and as fast as possible. That doesnt happen a lot, so it was very rewarding.Loubert says he is proud of how his officers came together to work as a team even though many usually work different shifts. And as I look back, Im grateful that while 40-some people died during the blizzard in the Buffalo area, we didnt lose anyone here at the airport, he emphasizes. That was the biggest reward of all. March | April 2023AirportImprovement.com'