Salvation Army in Joplin unveils new warehouse, emergency communication unit

Kimberly Barker, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·4 min read

Mar. 2—The Salvation Army organization that serves Jasper and Newton counties on Monday celebrated the completion of its new emergency disaster service warehouse at 724 S. Kentucky Ave. in Joplin.

The warehouse — situated between the Salvation Army building and its thrift store — will serve as a central location that will help the organization respond more quickly and more efficiently when a disaster strikes.

The new building will house the Salvation Army Canteen, an emergency response truck, essential emergency response supplies and the SATERN Unit, which stands for Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network. During a disaster, it will become the headquarters for response planning.

Funding for the project comes from donations given to the Salvation Army after the May 2011 Joplin tornado, according to former Maj. Beckie Stearns, who retired last year with her husband, Doug. Beckie Stearns said this project was one of their last goals with the remaining tornado funds.

"It's really great to see it come to fruition," she said. "It's exciting to see what is going to happen in this building for the community and for the area. There's going to be some really good training going on. Once that happens, the people in the area will be better qualified to go out and do disaster work."

Monday marked the first day of Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Missouri, a week dedicated to promote severe weather safety. This spring will mark the 10-year anniversary of the EF5 Joplin tornado that killed 161 people on May 22, 2011.

Officials said one of the biggest hurdles during the Joplin tornado was communication since the severe winds knocked down cell towers and antennas. With the project, emergency resources are now available to both Joplin and the region, according to Martin Rueter, Emergency Disaster Services divisional director with the Salvation Army-Midland Division.

"We were five hours away in St. Louis and trying to get resources here in a timely fashion was a challenge," Rueter said. "Also, a challenge was once we get the resources in, where are we going to put them. A lot of the resources for storage and a warehouse were destroyed in the area."

Rueter said they began conversations roughly five years ago with their division leadership about the mitigation process and if something like the tornado were to happen again, how to respond better. This led to the idea for a warehouse and mobile communication unit.

"All we had at the time was our Cantina, our mobile feeding kitchen," he said. "During that time, the days and the weeks afterward, we had 23 of these Cantinas that we brought in from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and eastern Missouri to provide feeding support to the victims and first responders."

SATERN

The Salvation Army also unveiled its new SATERN communications trailer on Monday. SATERN is an all-volunteer organization made up of licensed amateur radio operators who assist the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services ministry throughout the United States.

The response vehicle was built two years ago. Adam Menne, Midland Division SATERN coordinator, described it as the technical arm of the Salvation Army with the sole mission of providing communications and bringing benefits to the public during an emergency situation.

"We use amateur radio, commercial radios, over-the-air mail, and satellites," Menne said. "Every week, we have an international net where people sign in over the air, and we communicate to make sure we can establish that connection. Any time you see a national issue with communication, SATERN's at the table."

Dave Evans, Salvation Army advisory board member, said the project was a long time in the making, but the new headquarters should make a lot of difference during an emergency. He shared how the Joplin tornado affected his life, and how he served as both a paramedic and a survivor. Evans was responding to calls all day while his own house on Brownell Avenue was ripped to pieces.

Evans said this new resource will be lifesaving not only for the greater Joplin area but for the entire state.

"Communications are very important, and they were very instrumental 10 years ago," Evans said. "The cell towers were all down or blocked. Even text messaging wasn't happening. Calls were dropped. It all came back to having a backup plan. Communications with SATERN came to the rescue."