Bradley and Polk County Swift Water Rescue Teams have once again been dispatched to aid flood victims in Nashville and the surrounding Mid-State area. Closer to home, Cleveland/Bradley County Local Emergency Planning Committee will be distributing free weather alert radios to eligible residents and health care facilities beginning this week. “Our Swift Water Team traveled back to Metro Nashville along with some Polk and McMinn rescuers,” said Bradley County Fire-Rescue Chief Dewey Woody. “The mission was to check subdivisions and aid in any rescue as well. “They were hard at it today, performing their first rescue of the day at 7 a.m.,” Woody said Wednesday. Capt. Stoney Mathews and Capt. Donnie Gaines are leading the Bradley, Polk and McMinn group, according to Woody. Steve Lofty of West Polk Fire and Rescue said his agency sent five responders with Bradley County, as well as a boat to aid in rescue. It is not known when the local responders will be returning home.Bradley County’s Local Emergency Planning Committee, an entity of the Cleveland Bradley County Emergency Management Agency, could not have timed its give-away program any better. Weather related incidents such as flooding, tornadoes and other events are dispatched over dedicated systems.

The radios are being made available through a generous donation from the Schering-Plough Corporation, according to Matthew Cason of BCEMA. The LEPC, organized under Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis, is a volunteer cooperative between local emergency response agencies and businesses. Its purpose is to help industries protect their employees and properties against chemical hazards. “Bradley County government believes that disaster planning and prevention should extend beyond hazardous materials (Haz-Mat) incidents,” said Davis. “I commend our private industry partners and the LEPC for embracing the challenge of making Bradley County an even better place to live, work, and raise our families.” Emergency Management Agency Director Troy Spence noted that the advance warning which the weather-alert radios provide can make the difference between saving and losing a life. “The radios are especially useful to residents who may not have easy access to a conventional radio and/or te4levision broadcast, or whose circumstances may prevent them from taking life-saving action as quickly as others,” said Spence. He said the LEPC has established criteria to determine eligibility for a free weather alert radio. Priority will be given to the elderly, disabled, and/or homebound residents who have no reasonable means of transportation. Fixed-income residents and 24-hour health care and child care facilities will also be given preference. “Once the priority requests have been filled, any remaining weather radios will be distributed to the general public on a first come/first serve basis,” said Cason.

The LEPC cannot guarantee the availability of a radio to everyone; however, if you are selected to receive a weather radio, the EMA will contact you to make pick-up arrangements. Cason can be reached at the CBEMA at 728-7289 for eligibility and availability.