Emergency Officials Wait to See How Bad Hurricane Irene Will Hit Watertown

Fire, police and other personnel who will leap into action if Hurricane Irene does her worst to Watertown are on alert, but not sure what to expect.

Watertown Fire Chief Mario Orangio said he is keeping an eye on the storm and listening to what state emergency officials have to say.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency – MEMA – began staffing their regional office around the clock Thursday night, Orangio said.

“We have daily conference calls with state officials scheduled for the next few days for situational reports and storm updates,” Orangio said.

As of Thursday evening, the National Weather Service called for possible tropical storm conditions for the Boston area on Sunday during the day and into the night.

Along with Watertown fire, police, public works and Health Department personnel, NStar will be in position to respond to emergencies, Orangio said.

Should conditions get nasty, the town could open an emergency shelter, Orangio said. The primary shelter location is at .

Orangio also posted some hurricane preparedness information on the Watertown Emergency Management website.

Other information can be found on the Watertown Health Department's webpage.

Come back to Watertown Patch for more information on the Hurricane Irene.

Share your photos and tales from the storm. Send them by email to Charlie.Breitrose@patch.com, on Twitter at @watertownpatch, or on Facebook.