In the event of a large-scale emergency, people in the Cave City area might be able to seek shelter at the Cave City Convention Center.  

The convention center has been approved as a Red Cross emergency shelter. 

Sharon Tabor, director of the Cave City Tourist and Convention Commission, said the center has never been used as a shelter before but could easily serve that purpose. 

“I was at an emergency training one day and I thought this would be useful,” she said.

The center was able to meet all of the American Red Cross’ requirements, like handicap accessibility, a kitchen, shower facilities and a separate area for emergency volunteers to set up a command post, Tabor said. 

The Red Cross doesn’t require approved shelters to store resources like food or beds in the building, she said. 

“If there is an emergency, the Red Cross will provide all the beds and the food,” she said.

Barren County Emergency Management Director Tracy Shirley said he was not involved with the convention center’s accreditation nor did he suggest the idea to the center’s staff. 

“I can’t take credit for it,” he said.  

Nonetheless, Shirley said he was thrilled that the convention center was approved as a Red Cross emergency shelter.  

“It’s a great asset to the community,” he said. “Any reason for a mass amount of people to be displaced, we could use that as a shelter.”  

Shirley said other buildings in the county, primarily churches, serve as shelters when the need arises. 

Typically, he said, they will be used when individual families are displaced in the event of their homes catching fire or in some other way enduring heavy structural damage. 

“It’s been a while since we used them on a mass scale, and I hope it’s a long while before we have to call them again for (an emergency),” he said. 

Monica Lea, disaster program manager for the South Central Kentucky Chapter of the American Red Cross, said the main thing Red Cross considers when examining a shelter is whether it’s accessible for people with various disabilities and that the center’s location makes it especially valuable as a shelter. 

“The convention center is particularly well-equipped to be a shelter because of its proximity to (Interstate 65) and its size,” she said. 

This proximity to the interstate will make the convention center crucial if an emergency forces people on I-65 to abandon their vehicles, Lea said.  

“I’m very very excited to have that facility because it’s a fantastic facility,” she said. “They’re very proactive in wanting to be of help to their community.” 

— Follow Daily News reporter Jackson French on Twitter @Jackson_French or visit bgdailynews.com.