Emergency & Immediate Safety

If you are not sure who to call, call this. 211 is staffed around the clock by people whose entire job is connecting you to local help, and they have live information on what is open.

• Dial 211 from any phone
• Text your ZIP code to 898211
• Or use the website to search

Free and confidential. Interpretation is available in many languages.

A downed conductor can energise the ground around it, standing water, a chain-link fence, or a vehicle it is touching. There is no way to tell a live wire from a dead one by looking.

• Stay at least 35 feet away and keep children and pets back
• Never drive over a downed line
• Do not try to move a line with a stick, rope or anything else
• If a line falls on your car while you are inside, stay in the car and call 911. Only get out if the car catches fire — and if you must, jump clear with both feet together, never touching the car and ground at once, then shuffle away
• Treat dark traffic signals as four-way stops

In almost every widespread outage, more people are hospitalized by carbon monoxide from generators and grills than were hurt by the storm itself. Carbon monoxide has no smell and no color, and an attached garage with the door open is not safe ventilation.

• Run generators outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from doors and windows
• Never in a garage, basement, crawlspace, porch or shed — even with doors open
• Never grill or use a camp stove indoors for heat or cooking
• If you have a battery-powered CO alarm, use it. If anyone gets a headache, dizziness, nausea or confusion, get everyone outside and call 911

Also: let the generator cool before refuelling, and plug appliances directly into it rather than back-feeding a wall outlet, which can electrocute a line worker.

Response times may be longer than normal — many roads are still impassable and crews are stretched. Call anyway. If you can, tell the dispatcher the nearest cross street rather than only a house number, because street signs are down in the damage path.

Please do not call 911 for non-emergencies. Every non-urgent call delays someone who is trapped or injured. For damage reports, debris questions and general information, use the resources on this site.

Storm damage shifted foundations and sheared gas services across the damage path.

If you smell gas or hear hissing:

• Leave the building immediately. Do not stop to gather belongings
• Do not flip any light switch, unplug anything, use a phone indoors, start a car in an attached garage, or light a match — any spark is enough
• Once you are well away from the building, call 911 or We Energies at 800-662-4797
• Do not go back inside until a utility technician says it is safe

Mayor Austin Hammond declared a local state of disaster after the July 27 tornado. The City of Menasha is effectively closed and non-emergency services are limited while crews search damaged areas and clear infrastructure.

Officials are asking residents to stay put unless they are in immediate danger. Downed lines, debris and heavy traffic are creating hazardous conditions and slowing emergency response.

If you are not a resident and do not need to be in the area, please stay away — extra foot and vehicle traffic is actively hindering rescue work.

Acting Mayor and Common Council President Dan Steiner declared a local state of emergency covering the whole city, effective 5:30 p.m. July 27.

The declaration lets the city procure emergency goods and services, authorize overtime and personnel deployment, coordinate mutual aid with Menasha and Fox Crossing, and document damages and costs toward potential state and federal assistance.

Residents are urged to avoid damaged areas, stay away from downed power lines, follow instructions from public safety officials, and use caution traveling.