After a winter storm pummeled Vermont with a few feet of snow last week, leaving tens of thousands of homes without power, Rick Holloway’s first thought was: How can we help?
A facilities manager at Chroma Technology, Holloway knew his employer was better prepared than most to weather the storm.
The Bellows Falls manufacturing company has a generator strong enough to power its entire facility — including a 3,000-square-foot room used to host blood drives and other community events. So after making a few calls, Holloway announced on March 14 that the company would open an emergency shelter for anyone who needed a place to warm up, use the bathroom, charge their devices or get some coffee. Employees and local firefighters volunteered for shifts over the next 48 hours to ensure that the space was available overnight.
The effort caught the attention of Vermont Telephone Company CEO Michel Guite, who learned a thing or two during the power outage. “I hadn’t realized when the electric was off, you can lose water, as well, if you have a pump,” he said.
Luckily, he lived within walking distance of his generator-powered office. But he wondered how other families were faring. Inspired by Chroma, Guite called the Springfield Fire Department and asked about setting up his own warming shelter. Firefighters swung by the next morning and approved VTel to host up to 10 people at a time at its Springfield office. The company offered use of its small kitchen, as well.
The two shelters ultimately had only a handful of visitors — a testament, Guite said, to the resourcefulness of Vermonters. But both companies have vowed to offer similar services in the future.
In fact, Chroma is now coming up with a new emergency plan that will help it respond even more quickly next time. “We’ll then reach out to the town and work with them so that they know what we can do in the future,” he said.
This article appears in Mar 22-28, 2023.
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