Rural/Metro Describes Response to Tornadoes in Kentucky & Indiana

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — When it comes to preparing for natural disasters, Rural/Metro’s operational pros in Kentucky and Indiana were forced to stare down the eye of one of the nation’s deadliest storms last weekend when tornados ripped through the nation’s heartland. Their courage, innovation, perseverance and commitment to the cities and counties they serve set the standard for community service at a time when they were needed most.

“I’m very proud of the way our staff prepared for, and implemented its emergency response to multiple locations simultaneously, in coordination with our many Fire Department and public safety partners,” said James White, Division General Manager of Rural/Metro’s Kentucky Operations. “Our talented employees demonstrated their commitment to their communities and patients by using both their medical skills and their ingenuity, allowing them to perform so admirably while facing the destruction around them.”

Rural/Metro had prepared throughout the morning last Friday, monitoring reports from the regional Storm Prediction Center that tornado activity was likely that afternoon. Rural/Metro managers met and reviewed safety and emergency operation plans with field staff and dispatch personnel, and they were ready for the worst.

Despite their extensive preparation, Rural/Metro employees were forced to identify innovative solutions to provide the community needed response. Louisville is just 13 miles from Clark County, Indiana where tornados devastated the communities of Henryville and New Washington. Three ambulances and a command car from Louisville were immediately dispatched to assist Rural/Metro’s six ambulances already serving Clark County’s every day emergency 911 needs. Two of those units were stationed at the Henryville Fire Department, just one mile from the local High School. Additional resources from Indiana headed to the disaster site, bringing Rural/Metro’s total response to the Indiana tornadoes to 26 ambulances and four command vehicles.

Among those responding was Louisville Transportation Coordinator Trevin Hunter who discovered all cell phone service was disrupted and the statewide public safety radio network was inoperable. Hunter quickly discovered that crews were able to communicate through Blackberry Messenger. Team members radioed Hunter in the Command Post who would relay text of the message via Blackberry Messenger to Rural/Metro’s Louisville command staff. Other communications were handled by Clark County Central Alarm through VHF fire channels.

“We’re trained to prepare for any contingency, and to recognize alternative solutions and to implement them quickly to meet the community’s needs,” Hunter explained.

Rural/Metro- Kentucky crews began transporting patients who had already been rescued and triaged to both the Level I Trauma Center at University of Louisville Hospital and to Clark Memorial Hospital. Other medical crews participated in door-to-door search-and-rescue and cared for those who had not been transported.
“We had two ambulances stationed at the Henryville Fire Department approximately one mile from the high school when the tornado hit, and I couldn’t be more proud of how our crews responded immediately,” said Dan Gillespie, Division General Manager of Rural/Metro’s Indiana Operations. “Despite the sadness that our crews and their families are feeling, I’m so very proud of their ability to stay positive and focused on their mission to answer to cries for help from their community.”

Gillespie went on to compliment his Operations Managers Lonnie Smith, Courtney Hendrickson and Carla McCain for helping to coordinate the response, noting that McCain and Smith were appointed EMS Command during the entire incident by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, and remain on active duty rotating 24-hour shifts until Friday, March 9.

As rescue and transport operations were ongoing in Henryville, the tornado continued to push eastward and was reaching Rural/Metro’s Northern Kentucky operational border. Louisville began receiving requests for additional ambulances in Kenton and Grant counties, outside of Cincinnati. Louisville Field Operations Supervisor Patrick Duffy coordinated the response from the dispatch center, ensuring resources sent to Northern Kentucky did not compromise normal operations in Louisville and the additional needs of Southern Indiana.

The storms continued to move northeast into Rural/Metro’s Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky operation, wiping out the towns of Crittenden in Grant County and Piner in southern Kenton County. As tornado sirens wailed, all on-duty crews were instructed take shelter. Medical crews were sent to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Edgewood to help move patients into hallways. Others remained with their patients at other facilities until it was clear to transport.

“Rural/Metro stepped up and provided the largest single resource to the communities affected” in Northern Kentucky, said Operations Manager Aaron Walther. “The strength and dedication of our employees allowed us to go beyond the initial responses, to return and help clean up, hold the hands of those affected, and listen when they needed it most.”

In total, Rural/Metro utilized 44 ambulances in its response to the tornadoes in Northern Kentucky and Indiana. The storms claimed 34 lives in Kentucky and Indiana, three in Ohio and one in both Alabama and Georgia.

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