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Make sure it is unlocked.

“The Alma Police Department has a key to it, and when the sirens sound, a police officer comes down here and unlocks the building,” said Alma Superintendent David Woolly.

But that is not what happened Wednesday night.

“You can’t always count on an officer being close by, and they may be five minutes away, and you don’t want that five-minute delay. You want it unlocked when the first person gets here,” Woolly said.

Wednesday night, Heather Barber and her three children were among those locked out, while police were busy tending to a wreck.

“If I knew it wasn’t going to be open, I would have went somewhere else instead of waiting outside in the storm with my children,” Barber said.

Alma officials will be looking into a system that will automatically unlock the storm shelter when the sirens sound, officials said.

Until then, residents will have to wait for someone with a key.