By Erica Smith
The Decatur Daily
TRINITY, Ala. — The Caddo-Midway Volunteer Fire & Rescue District in Lawrence County now has a storm shelter in their building for first responders in the event of bad weather, which comes in time for the second most severe weather period in north Alabama.
“We all know the history of tornadoes in north Alabama. Lawrence County has had its share of significant tornadoes; several F-5 tornadoes,” said Caddo-Midway Fire & Rescue District Administrative Chief Darwin Clark. “Actually, in 2001 our fire station here was hit by an F-2 tornado; caused significant damage. We had personnel here at the station that got under the trucks and held on to the bottom of the trucks because they thought they were going to get sucked out of the building.”
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Clark, who has been with Caddo-Midway fire for 47 years and is a former Decatur fire chief, said the roof of the fire station was blown off during the tornado.
“That’s why it’s important for us to have a shelter here in the station,” he said. “We may have days to prepare and get all our equipment ready. Then we’re staffed up for these events, which means there’s people at the station ready to respond if there is significant weather in our district.”
There was a dedication and ribbon cutting Thursday at the fire station, in which the ribbon, yellow “do not cross” tape, was cut by a firefighter with the jaws of life. The shelter holds up to eight people. The station is located at 7909 County Road 214 in Caddo. The shelter cost about $5,200 and was provided by six donors, including Joe Wheeler EMC, Bank Independent, Parkway Funeral Home, Mount View Baptist Church, Faith Baptist Church and Alliance Technical Group.
“Prior to having this shelter here, this was not a safe place to be,” Clark said. “So, now we can not only plan on having our equipment ready, but having our personnel staffed up at the station, ready to go, so that as soon as the weather clears, we can start responding.”
Becca Darish, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Huntsville, said the second most severe weather period in north Alabama is from November to mid-December. She said as we get further in the year, we start to see cold fronts moving in, which is associated with much cooler weather.
“As they come through, the later in the year the stronger they can be, which is when we can see some of our severe weather associated with the passage of these cold fronts,” Darish said. “That severe weather is just like in the spring. There can be hail, tornadoes, strong winds associated with those cold fronts.”
Darish said we will not necessarily see pop-up thunderstorms like we did in the summer.
“It’s these bigger frontal systems that are driving any severe weather chances that we get as we move into November and December,” she said.
Caleb King, Limestone County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) officer, said there are certain things they keep an eye on in the chance of severe weather.
“Generally, we try to keep up our siren maintenance throughout the year, but anytime we have severe weather season coming up we definitely try to put a little more focus on it,” he said. “Our Pleasant Grove siren’s been down. It’s one of those issues where we can’t do anything about it because it’s just a matter of ordering parts and how long it takes them to come in.”
King said they also keep up with the county’s storm shelters.
“We make sure that the storm shelters are ready to be used,” he said. “Then we just start pushing information out — social media. Just preparedness information.”
Jonathan Warner, Morgan County EMA director, said there are many things people can do to prepare for severe weather.
“Make sure that you have a weather radio, make sure that the batteries are fresh in it,” he said. “Make sure you have multiple ways of communication and receiving alerts. Not just weather radios but have an app on your phone. Make sure you’re paying attention days in advance, and you know what the weather’s going to be the next couple of days, if not more than that.”
Warner said to make sure that you have all your supplies that you would need in case of a power outage.
“You have flashlights with fresh batteries, you have water stored,” he said. “If you have any kind of special medical needs or considerations, make sure that you have extra oxygen tanks, that you have generators. ... You have a way to charge your cellphones.”
During severe weather, Warner said, check on the elderly and your neighbors.
“Make sure that we’re taking care of each other.”
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