Superior First Responders, Stores Prep for Cold Snap

SUPERIOR, Wis.– With the temperatures about to plummet, some businesses in the Twin Ports are seeing people stocking up on warm gear.

First responders are also getting ready to make sure they are ready for the cold.

We made it this far into our Northland winter without a big cold snap, but that lucky streak appears to be over. While many of us can stay inside and wait this out, others will be working outside through this.

The Superior Fire Department says they are prepared no matter the conditions to respond any structure fires.

Their trucks will be filled with diesel and other fuel additives to keep trucks running smoothly. They’ll also keep the water flowing through both hoses and hydrants to prevent them from freezing up.

Sometimes firefighters will have to come and get hoses back a day later because they froze to the ground while firefighters were using them to battle flames.

If they’re responding to an emergency, more firefighters will be called in so they can rotate more often, and take turns warming back up in the trucks.

But even with all this preparation, the cold snap can still possibly slow down response times.

“It does slow us down at times. There’s just a lot more work involved in the winter moving around outside because of the snow. And things don’t happen as fast when it gets really cold like this. Things are hard to get together and take apart,” said Battalion Chief Camron Vollbrecht of the Superior Fire Department.

Firefighters aren’t the only ones preparing for the cold. The Northwest Outlet in Superior has been seeing more customers coming in this week to buy essential winter clothing.

Besides typical items like jackets and hats, the store has been going through heavy duty warm clothes like smart wool socks and toe warmers, which they say is actually their best seller right now.

With so many options on shelves these days, employees are educating customers about how to layer up to stay warm outside.

“Avoid cotton long underwear if you can if you’re going to be doing any activities outside. Because that cotton as you sweat is just going to absorb that moisture and doesn’t do anything with it and then you end up being cold.” whereas if you get a merino wool base layer, that’s going to be really good at pulling that moisture away from your body and keeping you warmer,” said Scott Miller of Northwest Outlet.