Citizen photo/Glenn Harbison: This boat was the highlight of a TVA safety display Saturday at Fire Station #1 in Blue Ridge. Complete with dummies to represent humans, it was sent over the spillway at Pickwick Dam in West Tennessee. Use the QR code below to view the film.

By: Glenn Harbison, glenn@fanninbasincitizen.com

Safety was the focus Saturday as representatives of TVA and the Fannin County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) centered on the topic where it concerns Blue Ridge Lake dam.

An event to hand out weather alert radios at Fannin County Fire Station #1 included an EMA Hyper-Reach signup, and a safety message from Harrison Strickland.

Adam May of TVA said approximately 2,000 postcards had been sent to persons below Blue Ridge Lake dam offering the free radios. In case of an emergency at the dam, an alert would be broadcast over NOAA weather radio as part of TVA’s overall warning system.

Fannin County EMA personnel were also on hand to sign up attendees for the agency’s Hyper-Reach notification system. This too would carry any emergency alert associated with the dam as well as other notifications involving Fannin County.

Strickland, TVA’s Program Manager for Public Safety Around Dams, brought along a display of a small fishing boat that had been sent over the spillway at Pickwick Dam in West Tennessee. 

The boat, which was visibly damaged in multiple areas, went over the spillway mounted with cameras and containing dummies to demonstrate what would happen in a real accident. The result can be viewed with the QR code accompanying this article.

Strickland pointed out that, while safety around all dams are important, some safe practices carry more weight at one dam than another.

For instance, the primary danger people have to watch out for around Blue Ridge Lake dam is the possibility of rapidly rising water downstream of the dam. 

“Wear your life jacket” was the safety message Strickland repeated, no matter why you might be in the water.

EMA Director Patrick Cooke echoed this message saying, “When we rescue people out of the river, they aren’t wearing life jackets.” This happened as recently as about two weeks ago when two persons had to be rescued from the rising current below Curtis Switch. They were hanging on to a limb.

Saturday’s event was in conjunction with a siren test for TVA’s Blue Ridge Dam Emergency Warning System. That system is in place to alert persons downstream of a dam failure.

Officials encourage everyone below the dam to include a weather alert radio and Hyper-Reach as their own, personal protection measures.