By LEONARD GRAY

ST. ROSE – The tornado which touched down briefly in St. Rose during the storms of Oct. 25, damaging trees and power lines, also confused some residents when sirens sounded in response, a St. Charles Parish official said at Monday’s meeting of the Parish Council.

Director of Emergency Management Tab Troxler said the siren was sounded to tell anyone outdoors they should immediately go inside and seek further information.

The funnel cloud descended in the vicinity of IMTT’s southeast corner to Fourth Street, along River Road where, John Little III, manager of IMTT, said damage was confined to some metal roofing, most of the board fence along River Road and the guardhouse at the front gate, which was “completely demolished.”

The guard on duty, Ricky Westerman, heard the siren and feeling exposed in his wood-frame guard shack, took shelter in a larger building. The guard shack was completely demolished.

Fifteen employees were on duty that night at IMTT, but none were injured and operations were not slowed. However, confusion arose when residents heard the sirens, two times parish wide and a third time in the St. Rose area, and were not sure what was happening, fearing a major problem at a petrochemical plant or at Waterford 3 nuclear power plant.

Troxler said the siren system is only used when there is an immediate threat to life.

“Any time there is a significant threat to the community,” he said. “You hear the siren, you get indoors immediately. It’s meant to get you indoors.”

Troxler told the council he attended a conference last year on major disasters, where he was advised to use the siren system for tornados. Troxler added there is a good probability that in the next 10 years, someone will die because of a tornado.