Lawrence County Fire and Rescue 1/19/2026

Subject: Preparing for the possibility of a winter storm.

There’s lots of talk on social media about the possibility of a winter storm event beginning this weekend. So let’s talk about it a little more.

Even though that the forecast information is still a good ways out on dialing in specifics about the storm, now is the perfect time to begin preparing. For us at the LCFR being prepared is our job. We strive to maintain a constant state of readiness.

We don’t have the privilege of rescheduling emergencies, power outages, ect. Our normal day at the station involves checking our equipment, training, and responding to calls.

The forecast of inclement weather really just prompts us to concentrate our equipment checks and training on things that become a higher priority or more likely to be utilized if the forecast event plays out. We do these things many days before the forecast event to avoid failures, unreasonable timelines, panic, stress, and higher costs associated with waiting til the last minute. You can use the same strategy at your home.

For example this week with the forecast of possible snow and ice we are communicating with our other fire, EMS, EMA, Law Enforcement, public utility partners, and our friends at TN Valley Weather. We are spending more time checking and exercising our generators, chain saws, auxiliary fuel tanks, auxiliary heaters, and medical equipment.

We are evaluating our stock of patient blankets, caution tape for marking abandoned vehicles, hot packs, and ice melt. For our vehicles we are checking and rechecking our antifreeze levels, our tire tread depth, our fuel levels, and operating the on spot tire chains that many of our vehicles are equipped with. Any issues are being addressed as we find them. At the end of the day if we prepare for an event and the event doesn’t happen, we are still better prepared for the next one.

The same approach can be taken by you with your home, and your vehicles. By preparing in advance you can save yourself the stress of last minute preparations. Generally speaking with a winter storm we would want to be prepared for slick roads and possible power outages.

Your primary goal is likely to stay warm and fed. Without going overboard just stock up on the items you need from the grocery store, pick up any prescription medications or self care needs that you may require, bring your pets inside or prepare a safe warm place for them, check your smoke/carbon monoxide alarms, ensure that you have plenty of fuel for heating, ensure that you have proper ventilation for your choice of heat, and ensure that your flue is cleaned if you utilize wood heat. All of the above mentioned ideas are easily achieved ahead of an event.

THIS ONE IS VERY IMPORTANT. If you or a family member requires in home oxygen, go ahead and make sure that your oxygen supply is topped off. If possible go ahead and secure a small generator to provide power for your oxygen concentrator. This may come as a surprise, but almost every time a weather related power outage occurs our 911 center gets inundated with calls requesting fire and EMS to respond to homes where a patient that requires oxygen has lost power and is concerned about their oxygen machine.

Unfortunately as much as we would like to help, and as hard as we try it is not at all possible for us to cover these calls and tie up fire and EMS units for long periods of time. We simply do not have the resources. That is why preparation is key for situations such as these. If you know someone who requires home oxygen, reach out to them and help them formulate a plan to ensure that they have what they need.

Our personnel are committed to maintaining a constant state of ready to respond to your emergency. We hope that you will find comfort in that. It is also our hope that you find value in the information being shared in this post. Stay calm, be prepared, and enjoy the show.