WEST BATH — The West Bath Fire Station will open up as a regional shelter in the event of an emergency thanks to a use agreement between Sagadahoc County Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross.

This would be the first regional shelter in Sagadahoc County, as opposed to town-centric emergency shelters and warming stations that some individual communities have set up in the past for their residents.

According to Sarah Bennett, director of Sagadahoc County Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross staff would be placed in the shelter during an emergency if needed.
People would potentially be able to stay overnight, shower, charge personal and medical devices and get food at the new shelter, she explained.

This development comes after a windstorm in October of 2017 that knocked out power across the state, and left several Midcoast communities without electricity for nearly a week. While many Mainers living in rural communities are prepared for occasional outages, the windstorm knocked down dozens of lines, meaning that some residents had to go without power for longer than they expected.

To help those people, many town offices, fire stations and community buildings opened as warming stations, charging stations or emergency shelters. Most of those facilities were not open overnight, and some were no more than a room.

There was one American Red Cross certified shelter opened in Sagadahoc County during the October windstorm. The Foursquare Church in Bath was opened as an around-the-clock shelter with American Red Cross staff available with medical supplies. Residents without power could stay overnight at the shelter or warm up during the day. The facility provided water, food, cots and blankets to those who needed them.

“During that storm, most of the fire departments who had the capability to open opened their shelters for people who needed to charge their electronic devices, whether that be medical or their phones (…) or needed water,” said Bennett.

According to Bennet, the West Bath Fire Department was set to open its doors as an emergency shelter during the storm, but at the last minute its generator crashed. The fire department now has a new generator and is ready to open as a regional emergency shelter.

According to a press release, the shelter would have capacity for 36 people, space for sleeping, private restrooms and showers, food and reliable electricity.

Instead of adding American Red Cross emergency shelters in every town, Bennett said the realities of limited staff and resources made it more prudent to set up a regional emergency shelter.

“When you have several smaller American Red Cross shelters, it’s harder for the American Red Cross staff to spread themselves out,” said Bennett. “It makes more sense to have a regional shelter and have the American Red Cross people at the regional shelter and have the locals try to provide support at the local level.”

Bennett said that municipalities were expected to continue opening their own warming stations and emergency shelters like they did during the wind storm, but the regional shelter would be available with more comprehensive care.

“The benefit to the people, the citizens of this community, is that they get their needs met and it’s American Red Cross certified. They’re the experts in the field,” said Bennett.

Bennett noted that while the facility was ready to be a regional emergency shelter, it might not be ready in the immediate aftermath of an event like the windstorm. It would still take time to staff the shelter and ensure that it’s safe. She recommended that any residents be prepared to be self sufficient for the initial 72 hours after an event at a minimum.

nstrout@timesrecord.com