(COLDWATER) - A Branch County 911 dispatcher is being credited with helping warn residents before last week's deadly tornado struck Union City.
According to the Hillsdale County Scanner Page on Facebook, Dispatcher Jenni Foust activated Branch County's tornado sirens immediately after emergency calls starting rolling over to her phone from neighboring St. Joseph County. Callers reported they'd spotted a tornado near Three Rivers. Foust quickly checked Michigan Storm Chaser Ben Richmond's reports online as the storm was on the ground in Mendon. Foust watched the track of the storm and decided to sound the sirens in Sherwood and Union City. She hit the sirens once more as she watched the storm heading straight for the Union Lake area and radioed deputies and officers who were in the storm's path. Three people were killed in the Union City tornado. The quick actions and expertise of Dispatcher Foust likely gave many residents valuable extra time to take shelter before the EF-3 tornado touched down.
Thank you to Hillsdale County Scanner Page for their reporting on this story.