North McCreary Fire Department
The North McCreary Fire department installed the AcuRite ATLAS™ Weather Station just before the annual Haunted House, in the fall of 2019. The wireless weather station installation and associated data was a significant enhancement to the local community here. It made the front page of the local newspaper! Local fire officers, firefighters, public safety responders, and the public have incorporated the hyper-local weather data into their daily planning.
The weather station data is used daily; reports are generated to include updated weather conditions such as temperature, wind speed and direction, and rainfall in real-time. Updated reports go out often through our dispatcher on days when severe weather is imminent.
Having real-time weather information supplements the entire Fire and Rescue team with emergency calls regarding house fires, wildland fires, and even vehicle accident reports.
A bonus with this weather data is now the crew are reminded to take umbrellas on inclement weather days! We even had a “rain delay” based on information obtained from the sensor. As you may be aware, here in Kentucky, we have not had a dry weekend in over ten months.
Some words from our crew!
Lt. Judy Jones reported that she utilizes the weather information for her daily route, she has gotten word that many people have been using this for their go-to weather forecast. Judy helped local members find and access the weather data on their mobile devices at our community events. She is an excellent asset to the fire team to help spread the weather knowledge in the community.
Lt. Kim Keith reported that having the storm information available allowed her to schedule volunteer crews more efficiently, and when severe weather is expected, allow those to work indoors instead of outside in the severe weather conditions.
As the training officer,
As the training officer of the department, it is my responsibility to provide quality training and ensure the safety of my firefighters and recruits during training drills. I find having an eye on the weather conditions is very important to help determine the appropriate conditions for specific drills. For example, to create a most realistic environment, an additional 75 pounds is required to train for life-saving drills. However, the conditions are often dangerously hot and humid, so it is essential to train during a safe environment so your body can prepare for the harshest environment. We watch the feels like temperature and keep all individuals well-hydrated is our number one concern.
Ideal training conditions include days with low humidity, low pressure, and overcast. Early morning or late afternoon is also a significant advantage with generally more moderate temperatures. I have learned that training in comfortable environments best prepares the crew for stressful scenarios.
Rarely would one want to train in the heat of the day unless we were preparing for a specific purpose. Keeping the temperature into consideration is imperative.
The department is very excited to have this AcuRite weather station and weather monitoring tools available to our team. The weather information has become a daily information outlet, not just to the first responders but the community as a whole. The real-time weather data is also available for the public to utilize, by way of the Weather Underground website or smartphone applications.
Lt Jamie Meece, Training Officer
North McCreary Fire Department
