People take shelter in Paducah Chick-fil-A during tornado

PADUCAH, KY (KFVS) - When a tornado like the one in Paducah hits, it’s important to find a safe place.

The people who were at the Chick-fil-A in Paducah for breakfast on Thursday morning ended up with some pretty exclusive seating when the tornado came through. It was a fast food experience they probably won’t forget.

“All of our phones were going off, going crazy, and then I was watching the news and watching the radars and we saw that it was about 7 miles southwest of here and the sirens went off,” Codie Forman, marketing director at Chick-fil-A, said.

That was the beginning of a crazy morning for Foreman and the rest of the people at the restaurant on Hinkleville Road.

“When the sirens go off, we pull all the blinds down and then when it’s really crazy, we pull everyone, including customers, back to the kitchen,” Forman said.

She said everyone got familiar pretty quick.

“So we get all of them back to the break room,” she said. “Everybody has, like, a party back there. Nice and cozy.”

It was still scary.

“There were some kids back there,” Forman said. “We gave them cows because they didn’t know what was going on and it was like pitch black back there.”

It was all over in about 20 minutes, according to Forman. It was a day at work she won’t soon forget.

“Just being able to talk to customers during that is a little weird, but it’s fun too because you get to talk to people more than just over the counter,” Forman said.

She said the restaurant lost power twice for about 15 minutes throughout the day.

She said it was “her pleasure” to help everyone.

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