Latest news with #ComfortVolunteerFireDepartment
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Texas Community Where No One Died in Devastating Floods Credits Siren System with Saving Lives
Officials in one Texas community are attributing their investment into an updated siren system with saving lives amid the devastating floods that impacted several counties in central Texas last week Danny Morales, assistant chief of the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department, told NBC News that residents "knew that if they heard the siren, they gotta get out" 'Anything we can do to add to the safety, we're going to sit down and try to make it work,' he saidOne Texas community hit by last week's multi-county flooding activated an emergency siren system for the first time, which officials believe helped save lives Danny Morales, assistant chief of the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department, said that nobody died in Comfort, according to NBC News. The small town home to about 2,300 people in Kendall County, which is about 20 miles away from Kerr County, where the majority of deaths from the flooding disaster occurred and at least 96 have died. 'People knew that if they heard the siren, they gotta get out,' Morales told NBC News. In a separate interview with the Associated Press, Morales, who has been with the fire department for decades, said that he helped secure funding for the security system last year when the opportunity came up — years after a 1978 flood killed 15 people in Comfort, including his grandfather. Last year, the firehouse was given a new siren, while an old siren was refurbished and moved to Comfort Park, where officials hooked it up to a U.S. Geological Survey sensor at Cypress Creek, the AP. reported While the siren can be manually triggered, the sensor also does the same when water levels reach a certain point. According to the news agency, the sirens use a specific flat tone for floods and a different sound for tornados. 'We do for ourselves and for the community,' Morales said. 'If we hadn't had a drought the past months and the [Cypress] Creek hadn't been down, we could have had another '78. The past few days, I'll tell you, it brings back a lot.' 'Anything we can do to add to the safety, we're going to sit down and try to make it work,' he added, sharing that funders have contacted him about adding a third siren in town. 'The way things are happening, it might be time to enhance the system even further.' As noted by NBC News, despite years of talks about installing a sirens in Kerr County, there was none in place at the time of the tragedy, although it's difficult to know the impact that kind of warning system could have had. The outlet went on to point out that the flooding hit Kerr Counter earlier, at a time when many residents were either sleeping or at least still indoors. In Kendall County, where Comfort is located, by the time the sirens went off, many people were already awake and aware of the devastating situation at hand. Still, Lorena Guillen, owner of Blue Oak RV Park in Kerrville — who went door to door to urge her guests to flee last week — told MSNBC that cell service in Texas Hill Country is spotty and having 'a siren like they do with tornadoes" could have helped. Brady Constantine, fire marshal and emergency management coordinator for Kendall County, told ABC affiliate KSAT that he awoke to the a warning he set up around 2 a.m. on the day of the floods and learned of the rising waters of the Guadalupe River. He then called up Morales, who set up a command at the fire station by 4:30 a.m. The county sent out its first wireless emergency message by 5:30 a.m. — ahead of three additional alerts all before 8:06 a.m., per KSAT. The county also issued a mandatory evacuation for those living near the river, which began rising around 9 a.m. in Comfort, according to the outlet. At 10:52 a.m., the fire department sounded the flood sirens — both at the park and at the fire station. Together, the sirens cost the county about $70,000, with 80% covered by a nonprofit, according to KSAT. 'We're going to sit back and do an evaluation after this to see how we can improve our system," said County Judge Shane Stolarczyk. Beyond the sirens themselves, residents were also sent a flash flood warnings and additional notifications, per the outlet. 'That warning system was utilized and was a significant factor in us having a quick response,' Stolarczyk said. Cruz Newberry, owner of Table Rock Alerting Systems which installed Comfort's system last year, told NBC News that the sirens are a measure of a last resort — following media alerts, phone warnings and social media. 'The nice thing with an outdoor warning system is it's one of the few methods that local officials have at their disposal where they can literally press a button and warn citizens themselves,' Newberry said. 'It's difficult to ignore a siren blaring for three minutes straight.' To learn how to help support the victims and recovery efforts from the Texas floods, click here. Read the original article on People
Euronews
6 days ago
- Climate
- Euronews
Flood sirens gave this Texas community a crucial warning
When the Guadalupe River began rising fast on 4 July, emergency sirens blared across the small Texas town of Comfort. Their long, flat tone – a final warning to evacuate for those who had not done so – saved lives, says Daniel Morales, assistant chief of the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department. The sirens are a testament to the determination of a community that has experienced deadly floods in the past, warning residents of devastating floodwaters that hours earlier had killed at least 118 people in communities along the same river, including 27 campers and counsellors in neighbouring Kerr County. That county did not have a warning system like the one in Comfort. Everyone in Comfort, a town of more than 2,200 people in unincorporated Kendall County, survived the flooding, with many riverside residents evacuating in time, Morales said. Learning from history Morales has been with the department for decades. He was there when flooding in 1978 killed 33 people, 15 of them in Comfort, including his grandfather. So when an opportunity arose last year to expand the community's emergency warning system, he and other residents found a way to fund it. The fire department's siren needed an upgrade. While the firehouse got a new siren, Morales found a Missouri company willing to refurbish the old one at a low cost so it could be moved to a central location in Comfort Park and connected to a US Geological Survey sensor at Cypress Creek. When the water reaches a certain level, the sensor triggers the siren, but it can also be sounded manually. 'We do [it] for ourselves and for the community,' Morales said. 'If we hadn't had a drought the past months and the [Cypress] Creek hadn't been down, we could have had another [flood like in 1978]. The past few days, I'll tell you, it brings back a lot.' Funding emergency infrastructure Morales said they cobbled together money from a grant, the county commission, the department's own budget and the local electric utility, which also donated a siren pole. They also got help installing the flood sensor gauge in the creek. The total cost with donated materials and departmental expenses was somewhere around $50,000 to $60,000 – about €43,000 to €51,000 – 'maybe a little more,' Morales said. In Kerr County, the price tag for a proposed flood warning system covering a larger stretch of the Guadalupe River was close to €850,000. Several county and city officials backed away when grants and funding fell through. The system ultimately was not installed near the camps where dozens of young campers died in the recent flood. Comal County, Texas – about 90 miles, or 145 kilometres, east of Kerr County – completed its own siren project in 2015 with funding from several local entities. The county now manages the system and river height data. Officials there did not respond to requests for details about costs. Training residents to respond After the updated Comfort sirens were installed, the volunteer fire department spent months getting the community accustomed to the siren tests that sound daily at 12pm, putting out messaging that if they hear a siren any other time, they should check local TV stations, the department's Facebook page and other outlets for emergency notifications. The sirens have a distinct sound for tornadoes and a long, flat tone for floods. So on 4 July, if people in Comfort hadn't seen the alerts sent to phones or heard shouting firefighters urging evacuation, they heard the long tone and knew they had to leave. A Facebook post from the department noted a mandatory evacuation for all residents along the Guadalupe River. Comfort was miles away from the flash flooding that overtook the camps and didn't experience cresting river levels until after the early morning surge. Many Comfort residents were already awake and aware of the rising water by the time the sirens sounded. The Guadalupe's crest was among the highest ever recorded in the town, rising from hip-height to three storeys tall in just over two hours. Morales doesn't know if sirens would have changed outcomes in Kerr County. But he's sure they gave Comfort residents an extra level of warning. He's already been contacted by some funders about the possibility of adding a third siren in town. 'Anything we can do to add to the safety, we're going to sit down and try to make it work,' he said. 'The way things are happening, it might be time to enhance the system even further.'
New York Post
6 days ago
- Climate
- New York Post
Warning sirens helped this small Texas community survive flooding
As the Guadalupe River swelled from a wall of water heading downstream, sirens blared over the tiny river community of Comfort — a last-ditch warning to get out for those who had missed cellphone alerts and firefighters going street-to-street telling people to get out. Daniel Morales, assistant chief of the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department, believes that long, flat tone the morning of July Fourth saved lives. 5 The siren is a last-ditch warning to get out for those who had missed cellphone alerts and firefighters going street-to-street telling people to get out. AP The sirens are a testament to the determination of a community that has experienced deadly floods in the past, warning residents of devastating floodwaters that hours earlier had killed at least 118 people in communities along the same river, including 27 campers and counselors in neighboring Kerr County. That county did not have a warning system like the one in Comfort. Everyone in Comfort, a more than 2,200-person unincorporated community in Kendall County, survived the flooding with many people along the river evacuating in time, Morales said. Comfort residents were driven by history 5 Daniel Morales is the assistant chief of the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department. AP Morales has been with the department for decades. He was there when flooding in 1978 killed 33 people, 15 of them in Comfort, including his grandfather. So when an opportunity arose last year to expand the community's emergency warning system, he and other residents buckled down to find the funding. The fire department's siren needed an upgrade. While the firehouse got a new siren, Morales found a Missouri company that was willing to refurbish the old one at a low cost so it could be moved to a central location in Comfort Park where it was connected to a U.S. Geological Survey sensor at Cypress Creek. When the water level reaches a certain point, the sensor triggers the siren, but it can also be sounded manually. Follow The Post's coverage on the deadly Texas flooding 'We do for ourselves and for the community,' Morales said. 'If we hadn't had a drought the past months and the (Cypress) Creek hadn't been down, we could have had another (19)78. The past few days, I'll tell you, it brings back a lot.' Overcoming the cost hurdle for sirens Morales said they cobbled together money from a grant, from the county commission, the department's own budget and from the local electric utility, which also donated a siren pole. They also got help installing the flood sensor gauge in the creek. The price tag with all the donated materials and the costs the department fronted was somewhere around $50,000 to $60,000 or 'maybe a little more,' Morales said. 5 A drone view shows fallen trees, as a result of flash flooding, in Comfort, Texas. REUTERS In Kerr County, the price tag for a proposed flood warning system for a larger swath of the Guadalupe River was close to $1 million, which caused several county and city officials to balk when attempts at grants and other funding opportunities fell through. They ultimately didn't install the warning systems near the camps where dozens of young campers died in the recent flooding. In Comal County, Texas, about 90 miles east of Kerr County, the Guadalupe River meanders into Canyon Lake before picking back up on its journey to empty into the San Antonio Bay on the Gulf Coast. The county along with Guadalupe County, New Braunfels city government and the Water-Oriented Recreation District- a state-created entity- agreed to fund expanded flood sirens along the Guadalupe River. The project was completed in 2015 and Comal County now manages the system including the information from the river gauges and notifications about the river height. A message left for Comal County officials seeking details about the cost of the system was not returned Thursday. Training residents was key to success After the updated Comfort sirens were installed, the volunteer fire department spent months getting the community used to the siren tests that sound daily at noon, putting out messaging that if they hear a siren any other time of day, they should check local TV stations, the department's Facebook page and elsewhere for emergency notifications. The sirens make a specific sound for tornadoes and a long, flat tone for floods. So on July Fourth, if people in Comfort hadn't seen the weather alerts sent to phones or announced on radios, if they hadn't heard shouting firefighters going from street to street to evacuate, they heard the long tone and knew they had to leave their homes. A Facebook post on the department's page noted a mandatory evacuation of all residents along the Guadalupe River. 5 An emergency siren seen on top of the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department in Comfort, Texas, on July 10, 2025. AP 5 Boerne Search and Rescue teams navigate upstream in an inflatable boat on the flooded Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025 in Comfort, Texas. Getty Images But Comfort was also miles away from the flash flooding that overtook the camps and didn't experience the cresting of the river flooding until after the terrifying rush of water in the pitch black early morning hours hit cabins. Many Comfort residents were already awake and aware of the rising water by the time the sirens sounded. The Guadalupe's crest was among the highest ever recorded at Comfort, rising from hip-height to three stories tall in over just two hours. Morales doesn't know if sirens would have changed things in Kerr County. But he knows they gave Comfort residents an extra level of warning. In recent days, Morales said he has been contacted by some of the funders to talk about adding a third siren in town. 'Anything we can do to add to the safety, we're going to sit down and try to make it work,' he said. 'The way things are happening, it might be time to enhance the system even further.' ___ This story has been updated to correct the name of a county to Kerr County, instead of Kerry County, in the 10th paragraph.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
A small Texas community where everyone survived flooding has sirens that warned them
As the Guadalupe River swelled from a wall of water heading downstream, sirens blared over the tiny river community of Comfort -- a last-ditch warning to get out for those who had missed cellphone alerts and firefighters going street-to-street telling people to get out. Daniel Morales, assistant chief of the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department, believes that long, flat tone the morning of July Fourth saved lives. The sirens are a testament to the determination of a community that has experienced deadly floods in the past, warning residents of devastating floodwaters that hours earlier had killed at least 118 people in communities along the same river, including 27 campers and counselors in neighboring Kerr County. That county did not have a warning system like the one in Comfort. Everyone in Comfort, a more than 2,200-person unincorporated community in Kendall County, survived the flooding with many people along the river evacuating in time, Morales said. Comfort residents were driven by history Morales has been with the department for decades. He was there when flooding in 1978 killed 33 people, 15 of them in Comfort, including his grandfather. So when an opportunity arose last year to expand the community's emergency warning system, he and other residents buckled down to find the funding. The fire department's siren needed an upgrade. While the firehouse got a new siren, Morales found a Missouri company that was willing to refurbish the old one at a low cost so it could be moved to a central location in Comfort Park where it was connected to a U.S. Geological Survey sensor at Cypress Creek. When the water level reaches a certain point, the sensor triggers the siren, but it can also be sounded manually. 'We do for ourselves and for the community,' Morales said. 'If we hadn't had a drought the past months and the (Cypress) Creek hadn't been down, we could have had another (19)78. The past few days, I'll tell you, it brings back a lot.' Overcoming the cost hurdle for sirens Morales said they cobbled together money from a grant, from the county commission, the department's own budget and from the local electric utility, which also donated a siren pole. They also got help installing the flood sensor gauge in the creek. The price tag with all the donated materials and the costs the department fronted was somewhere around $50,000 to $60,000 or 'maybe a little more,' Morales said. In Kerr County, the price tag for a proposed flood warning system for a larger swath of the Guadalupe River was close to $1 million, which caused several county and city officials to balk when attempts at grants and other funding opportunities fell through. They ultimately didn't install the warning systems near the camps where dozens of young campers died in the recent flooding. In Comal County, Texas, about 90 miles east of Kerr County, the Guadalupe River meanders into Canyon Lake before picking back up on its journey to empty into the San Antonio Bay on the Gulf Coast. The county along with Guadalupe County, New Braunfels city government and the Water-Oriented Recreation District- a state-created entity- agreed to fund expanded flood sirens along the Guadalupe River. The project was completed in 2015 and Comal County now manages the system including the information from the river gauges and notifications about the river height. A message left for Comal County officials seeking details about the cost of the system was not returned Thursday. Training residents was key to success After the updated Comfort sirens were installed, the volunteer fire department spent months getting the community used to the siren tests that sound daily at noon, putting out messaging that if they hear a siren any other time of day, they should check local TV stations, the department's Facebook page and elsewhere for emergency notifications. The sirens make a specific sound for tornadoes and a long, flat tone for floods. So on July Fourth, if people in Comfort hadn't seen the weather alerts sent to phones or announced on radios, if they hadn't heard shouting firefighters going from street to street to evacuate, they heard the long tone and knew they had to leave their homes. A Facebook post on the department's page noted a mandatory evacuation of all residents along the Guadalupe River. But Comfort was also miles away from the flash flooding that overtook the camps and didn't experience the cresting of the river flooding until after the terrifying rush of water in the pitch black early morning hours hit cabins. Many Comfort residents were already awake and aware of the rising water by the time the sirens sounded. The Guadalupe's crest was among the highest ever recorded at Comfort, rising from hip-height to three stories tall in over just two hours. Morales doesn't know if sirens would have changed things in Kerr County. But he knows they gave Comfort residents an extra level of warning. In recent days, Morales said he has been contacted by some of the funders to talk about adding a third siren in town. 'Anything we can do to add to the safety, we're going to sit down and try to make it work,' he said. 'The way things are happening, it might be time to enhance the system even further.' ___ This story has been updated to correct the name of a county to Kerr County, instead of Kerry County, in the 10th paragraph. ___ Lauer reported from Philadelphia.
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Climate
- Washington Post
A small Texas community where everyone survived flooding has sirens that warned them
As the Guadalupe River swelled from a wall of water heading downstream , sirens blared over the tiny river community of Comfort -- a last-ditch warning to get out for those who had missed cellphone alerts and firefighters going street-to-street telling people to get out. Daniel Morales, assistant chief of the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department, believes that long, flat tone the morning of July Fourth saved lives.
