A deadly tornado that destroyed hundreds of homes in Hattiesburg, MS, also left the city without one of its fire stations. The tornado touched down around 3:45 a.m. and the three firefighters at Station 2 jumped into Engine 2's apparatus for safety, Hattiesburg Fire Chief Paul Presley said.
"Lt. Barry Collins got on the radio and said that Fire Station 2 was gone," Presley told Firehouse.com. Collins suffered a cut to the face from broken glass.
When it was safe to exit the apparatus the firefighters retreated to the station's storm shelter to ride out the devastating winds.
Once the weather calmed down, the firefighters got a look at the damage to their station and saw that the roof over the apparatus bay was blown off. The bay doors were pulled off their tracks and equipment stored in the apparatus bay had been tossed around by the winds. The pumper sustained minor damage, mainly just broken glass.
“They couldn’t move the truck, it was basically trapped in the bay by the debris," Presley said. "They took off on foot and got into the neighborhoods around the station to help the residents."
Widespread Damage
Within 45 minutes of the tornado touching down, a command post had been established and firefighters were conducting primary searches of areas hit by the twister. Off-duty firefighters came in to help with rescue and clean-up efforts.
Presley said firefighters encountered hundreds of homes that were damaged and downed trees and power lines in the road. Firefighters rescued five residents who were trapped in their damaged homes and assisted dozens of residents to safety. With mutual aid arriving to help, a secondary search started after sunrise.
"Whole neighborhoods are gone," Presley said of the devastation.
According to data collected by the city, 240 homes were destroyed, 259 sustained major damage and 209 had minor damage. Four people in Hattiesburg died from the tornado.
Future of Station 2
Presley said a full evaluation of Station 2 showed that the foundation was damaged beyond repair and the station would need to be replaced. Crews from Station 2 will work from Station 1 until a new station is built, but Presley said it's too early to know when that will be.
Repairs to Engine 2 should be complete in about a week, the chief estimated. The firefighters' personal vehicles were also destroyed at Station 2.
"We were very fortunate that none of the firefighter's had damage at their homes," Presley said.
