JEFF DAVIS, La. (KLFY) -- Jeff Davis Parish is set to build a new hurricane safe house to protect emergency personnel during severe weather events.

The safe house, designed to accommodate approximately 75 people, will provide essential services such as water, sewer, power and internet, ensuring that emergency responders can perform rescue and recovery operations effectively.

"Well, the safe room is an area designed specifically for high winds, and it could be designed for emergency personnel to stay right out of storm," said Ben Boudreaux, Jeff Davis Parish Administrator.

The safe house project is funded entirely by grants, with an estimated cost of around $3 million. Boudreaux emphasized that no local tax dollars will be used for the construction or design of the facility.

The design phase of the safe house is currently 90% complete, with plans to break ground as early as next year. Boudreaux mentioned that the facility will be located behind the parish's courthouse.

Local agencies such as the sheriff's office, police departments, and possibly medical personnel like ambulance services will collaborate to utilize the safe house for housing emergency responders during storms.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.

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