Where and where not to go for shelter amidst a storm

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — It’s an unsettling feeling when you hear the sound of the sirens.

Here across south central Kentucky, we are familiar with the anxiety that comes when the threat for damaging storms lurks the region.

The deadly December tornado outbreak from a few months ago and the destructive tornado from New Years Day has become an eye opener for tornado safety.

There are a few community shelters available around the area, when it comes to severe weather events, people may be confused about where and what those shelters are.

“All Warren County parks have at least one storm shelter; a lot have two. Each of those storm shelters can hold around 200 people,” said Katie McKee

Katie McKee of the Bowling Green Fire Department says that people are under the impression that firehouses are used as storm shelters.

“In order for a building to be considered a safe building it has to meet certain criteria set by FEMA.

Fire stations were not built to that specific criteria, the level of safety is not any better than a typical residential or commercial building,” she said.

The safety of the community is the Fire Department’s number one priority.

McKee wants to make sure that the people have accurate information during life threatening weather situations.

“If you do come to a fire station, it’s not guaranteed that somebody will be here. They could be out on a run helping somebody, so you don’t want to show up here expecting to let in and have safety when they may not be there,” McKee reiterates.

You can find a full list of storm shelter locations at the Bowling Green Parks and Recreation website.