Business & Tech
Suffield Residents Prepare Without Panic for Irene
As Hurricane Irene heads up the coast, Suffield residents head into town to stock up on supplies.
It was a "crazy" day at Friday as residents pulled everything from batteries to generators off the shelves in anticpation of Hurricane Irene's arrival in Connecticut.
Suffield hardware owner George Fields was exhausted by Friday afternoon.
"It's been constant," Fields said. "Nonstop. A lot of it is propane, flashlights, batteries. There will be very little left by tomorrow."
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Fields said a propane delivery is expected for Saturday.
"Most people are calm but some are a little nervous," he said.
Find out what's happening in Suffieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Customers cleared out the few generators available on Thursday. The store sold out of two pallets of sandbags and play sand on Friday, according to Fields. People are also buying gutter equipment and supplies to drain water away from their homes.
Fields expects the after-effects of the storm to clear out tarps and saws as people clean up after Irene leaves.
was also a hotspot as customers cleared water from the shelves and stockroom. A few lonely bottles remained by 6 p.m.
Supervisor Heather VanAllen said customers told her many of the big chain stores were already out of water.
"They've come in for the water, canned food," she explained. "We've restocked ice, milk and dairy all day."
"Nobody's really panicking but it's getting a lot busier than usual," VanAllen said. "People are saying they might as well pick a few things up."
Adam Favreau, in the meat department, said customers chatted with each other about the storm and preparing for it as they stocked up on chicken and meat. Some are cooking food up ahead of time, he said, and cautioned them on keeping food at safe temperatures.
"People are trying to help each other out," he said, adding that he's not particularly worried about the storm.
"I just take it as it goes," he said.
Hurrican Irene was the topic of conversation as customers headed up and down the aisles or unloaded bags into their cars. Most appeared to be calmly anticipating the weekend storm. Many joked about heading into the package store to stock up on beer and wine.
