Columbus first responders receive new storm shelters
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – First Responders in Columbus will now have extra shelter from the storm.
Columbus Fire and Rescue took delivery of its first two storm shelters.
The shelters will be used by firefighters, police, and ambulance crews during severe weather events.
Currently, firefighters take shelter under their trucks during tornado warnings and other severe weather.
Fire Station One will have three of the shelters. The city’s other firehouses will each get two.
In 2000, severe weather destroyed one of the city’s fire stations.
The process to get these new shelters has taken five years, but Chief Duane Hughes believes benefits outweigh the wait time.
“There have been many times where the initial storm has come through, the emergency responders are out in the community providing aid, and then we get another severe warning with a storm coming through, and they’re in the weather, exposed. Now, we have, conveniently located, five locations around the city at our fire stations, where these emergency responders, ambulance crews, police officers, and firefighters can seek shelter, weather the storm, and then get out and provide the services that the community expects of us”, said Columbus Fire Chief Duane Hughes.
The bulk of the cost for the shelters was paid for by a Federal grant.
