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Close-up video of damage to Engine 8536
As we reported on Friday, Milton Fire & Rescue in Kentucky had it's Station 2 destroyed by a tornado. Since 2008 we have been sharing some of the dash-cam videos from Milton Chief Jason Long here on STATter911.com. During the tornado warning Chief Long was rolling the video once again as the storm came into Milton. It's in four six eight parts.
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Also on STATter911 …
- UPDATE – Must listen to radio traffic & damage video: Tornado destroys Kentucky firehouse. Milton Fire & Rescue Station 2 hit this afternoon. Department featured in videos on STATter911.com. – March 2, 2012
- Dash-cam video & audio: House fire in Milton, Kentucky. – January 22, 2012
- Live coverage: Large tornado outbreak in Oklahoma City area. Two Moore schools leveled with missing & trapped children. – May 20, 2013
- Quick Takes: March 4, 2012. – March 5, 2012
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His community and his firehouse have been hit and destroyed by a tornado…. so the Chief is calm as a cucumber asking for additional resources and directing the show while responding to the scene. FIRST thing out of his mouth when arriving at the destroyed firehouse? "Is everybody okay?" My vote for Chief of the year!
I agree whole-heartedly…Chief of the Year!! Chief Long, I am so sorry you, your Department, your community, and all those states have gone through this tragedy. But you, Sir, are a leader who I admire so much!! I am in awe of your composure and your clear thinking, all the way through this. May God be with you all as you recover and rebuild from this!
I agree, Chief….you do your community and department proud!
Good video that shows the reality of the storm. Also, it is impressive how calm and collected he says in the video. A reminder of what the vollies do every single day in their rural communities…professional isn't about being paid or not…it's about do it right. Nice job, Chief. Godspeed up there
Are you guys serious ??? " Chief of the year " for remaining calm ??? Aren't ALL Chiefs supposed to remain calm ???? A Chiefs FIRST duty is to keep himself safe, then his family, then his crew(s), then the civilians. The way I see it is this Chief should have been at one of his firehouses gathering resources for this natural disaster. It is NOT his job to go SPEEDING all over East jesus chasing the tornados, is it ??? How many times did he needlessly put himself in the path of the tornado ??? He was heard a couple of times saying that he has to get out of the way. What good is he if he got sucked up in the thing ???!!! He went back to his destroyed station 3 times !!! Why didn't he just STAY there and be a CHIEF and start gathering equipment and at least TRY to get some assemblance of order with what was left ??? Christ, there was even a gas leak with a dozen or so volunteers wandering around aimlessly !!!! But No….the Chief had to continually go out speeding around town for NO reason !!!! Is that what a Chief is supposed to do ???? Kinda like a dog chasing a car….what's he gonna do with it once he catches it ??? Wow.
You're way off base. This man is a chief. He is concerned for his volunteers (Is everyone ok?), for his Department (His station lay in ruins, but what could he have done there that the vols couldn't do?), and for his community (He was searching for additional damage/injuries). He used modern communications to assemble resources from other departments. Was he speeding?…I couldn't see the speedometer. I feel he was not in the least reckless. He was telling others to take shelter, and he was making contact with other agents. If he had been at his station as you suggested, he would have been killed!! I distinctly heard the vols tell him that they could not get the gas shut off, and to call the gas company, which he did. Is there something magic about him that would have allowed him to shut it off if he had been there? He was trying to get away from the tornado because it was chasing him!
Give credit where credit is due. This man handled a community and personal tragedy with cool and calm. As a chief, is he supposed to? Yes, but he did it very professionally and very well. He did credit to our profession.
Actually it is his job to be "chasing the storm" (which if he was chasing it wouldn't have been coming at him). Most officers in tornado prone areas are Skywarn certified and need to be out "speeding over east Jesus" so they can confirm where the tornado is at so the correct sirens are activated. The spotters give the reports to the NWS so they can issue the warnings. So without him doing what he was doing more lives could of been lost.
my heart and soul to all involved
fire 21 well no need to say it because you did and you would be well supported, i live in ontario canada and wish all the best as i have watch all posted,,,, hats off and BE SAFE
I was not impressed either . While he was driving around it looked like the crew at the firehouse was standing around looking for direction. Also the comment to leave the engine in it's place for insurance purposes makes no sense . The video camera he used to give a tour of the country side could have recorded the damage .
I pray for their town and hope for their recovery
Need to agree with Fire21. Although he did remain calm throughout, he should have been involved with the OVERALL planning of the disaster. We see so many people complaining about the white hat getting hands on….he did just that. The Chief should have been directed to a Command Post or EOC to develop or activate the Emergency Operations Plan for his community. His crews should have been doing winshield triage abd reporting back to him so he could start calling needed resources for the whole community…Instead he was drving around town, must admit though I think we did see most of the town…Sad to see destruction like that and wish them all the best…
OVERALL planning really? For a department that protects a rural area of 90 square miles seems to me he did his best to locate and follow the destruction and to give adequate updates to it's location. I'm sure some type of EOC was set up after the tornado went through but who knows maybe the path was isolated to an area where limited destruction took place and was not needed. And really going to hop right in a fire truck that a building just fell on and drive it around town you serious? From what I can see Chief did an excellent job on a natural disaster that no agency can properly plan for.
While those of us way up north are not immune from tornadoe strikes, they just occur less frequently than some of our Southern brothers get. However on a calm Friday evening back in 2006 we were the next jurisdiction over from Canda's only recorded Category 5 tornadoe strike and the worst so far in Manitoba, Canada. I thru my paid career had responded to minor events but none the magnitude of this event touching down on the Trans Canada highway. As such was amazed at the variety of weather patterns both prior to and after, especially the driving rain off and on so I very much appreciate what Chief Long posted.
While responding to the Mutual Aid assist call I was literally picked up off the road surface once or twice even though their was no tornadoe activity evident where I was, amazing to have gone thru that with the excessive rain and winds. I don't think I'd need the thrill again any time soon. Early warning prevented many serious injuries and deaths but residents heeding the radio/tv advice constantly broadcast all thru the day.
As a Command Officer I really appreciate Chief Long posting his four clips from his response vehicle. It gave me a birds eye view of the various cloud formations, water spouts, changeups in the weather. For the record it would be no different here in the Prairies of Canada I would be essentially doing the same, I mean seriously I have someone designated to be in the EOC, I am a real hands on Chief and last time I looked tornadoes cannot be run from the buggy in a static location. Had he not been "chasing the event" as its been put a lot of valuable intell would not have been collated. Some of us have whats the expression we hear on here "stones" and some don't. I give my Brother full marks, Bruno would be proud, hope I run into him or his staff at FDIC next month, we'll buy him a Canadian beer on me, he's a man I could spend time with, he gets the IC role. Stay Safe and hopefully in house. Speedy recover to Ops Jason.
Chief, thank you for the videos. It certainly gave us a good perspective of the conditions your area was facing. I hope your FD, your members, and their families are able to recover quickly.
I STILL want to know in what Fire Chiefs handbook sends a chief out chasing tornados !!! It is NOT his job to go looking for damage. It is his JOB to organize his firefighters and prepare them for the calls that will eventually come in. Roaming command in an SUV doesn't work. You wanna be a storm chaser—be one. You wanna be the Chief….be one. It is the weather services job to track the storm. Near the end of the video, it's apparent that there are volly's speeding all over the area "checking" for damage. Talk about dangerous redundancy and stroking it.
Here we go with the whacker comments must be one of those know it all paid guys. Your mental intelligence must be very slim due to the fact which is very obvious during a natural disaster and especially a tornado the first thing you loose is a connection to the outside world in means of communication. How is one to call 911 when their house is blown down power lines down communication lines down or even be trapped under a house. You obviously should not be in the service if you cant even think outside the box on this one but then again your one of those know it all paid guys correct???
Skywarn spotters work for the National Weather Service. The NWS gets all their information from skywarn spotters. If you would of watched all of the videos you would of heard that an IC was established somewhere in the county. This is not just his community's incident its the entire county so the county's disaster plan was put into action. Its apparent that you've never been involved in an incident like the one presented in the video. Its a little hard for victims who are trapped, in critical condition, and without phone service to call 911. Watch any tornado response video and you will find that they all check the area.
Well 8truck,
If Chief Long wants to spot for the NWS, let him. I just feel that a Fire Chief should be a CHIEF to his department and the public he serves…not a weather spotter. Isn't there anyone else that can speed all over town looking for debris fields ??? Why does it have to be the chief ???
BTW, This is 2012. I'm sure just about EVERY person has a cell phone these days. This isn't the Wizard of Oz era when ToTo sounded the tornado alarm. I know that you are trying to justify the video's….that's OK too.
Don't know why some of you are starting to make this a paid vs volunteer issue…it isn't. I think that this is a weather spotter vs. town speedster Fire Chief issue….that's all.
Guess Really should pay attention to the video. 8500 was the IC and at the ECC. I'm guessing 8501 would be his assistant, i.e his field eyes. Last time I checked you need good field reports from someone who knows what they are seeing and can keep his cool in a situation. His driving around in and out of the path gave the Communications center a good view of the specific areas that were in danger allowing time for sirens to be activated, responders to seek shelter and have a generally good outcome. Ever heard of geographical operational commanders? This would be a good model to base it off of. When you have some actual experience in a major event and being an operational liason for the IC then you can talk crap. Until then keep your trap shut.
Sorry,
Never heard of " geographical operational commanders ". I even googled it to give you the benefit of the doubt. STILL couldn't find it. Where else can I find out about these storm chasers ????
Maybe you should take some NIMS classes.
Never took a NIMS class that tells a Fire Chief to chase tornados.
Mike,
Glad to see atleast there are some of us who pay attention in NIMS courses.
Were not going to win with this one he just doesn't get it.
Its a county wide incident not just his community.
Milton Station 2 is at: 16S FH 4632 8001 viewable here: http://dhost.info/usngweb?usng=16SFH4632680011&disp=h&zoom=17
Skywarn is a good class. At my communications center all of us are required to take the course so that in the event of severe or significant weather we can be deployed throughout the county. NWS will and has called each spotter for ground level updates on severe weather. I also volunteer in the county and can serve as a spotter while in this capacity as well.
Really,
NIMS Reference was to Geographical Operational Commanders. You should REALLY stop monday morning quarter backing the Chief. The chief you continuely demean served a great purpose. He provided real time updates on damage, debris, and the storm's location and progress to the communications center and the IC at the ECC. Which I'm fairly confident was relayed to NWS in REAL TIME. He was also providing early warning to citizens who could have been in harm's way. As I can see from your criticism you are a Reactive Firefighter, not a Pro-Active Firefighter. Clarification— you fight from the outside because its on fire so you have determined that because it is on fire its to great of a risk….
If you want to be a spotter for the NWS and chase tornados after taking a 3 hour course then go right ahead. If you want to a Fire Chief, then do that. Long should have been back at his destroyed firehouse getting his crews and equipment in order to provide service to the community. 1 hour after the tornado, Long goes back to the firehouse for the 3rd time and people are still wandering around looking clueless. After an HOUR !!! What good are they to the community ??? I guess its more fun to speed thru town with lights and sirens' a blazin'…….
So you know communications do go down in these events. This same day a Ky community not too far away was struck with a category 3 tornado. It took out the power, emergency radio repeaters, dispatch, telephone and cell towers in a matter of seconds. There was no communication with the outside world. Main Street was destroyed as well as several areas out into the rural county. It was several hours before other emergency services could respond with mutual aid. News had to travel by word of mouth.
Now think about this, people trapped in their houses, vehicles, and buildings with no way of calling for help. How do you think these people where discovered? Responders like Chief Long, thats how. Not every incident can be managed like the manual reads. These are once in a life time events for the people of this region. No amount of preparation or training will completely prepare you for this type of event. It's easy to arm chair quarterback these events when your not the one effected. Maybe it's not the way I would have handled it, but it isn't wrong either.
I'm done beating this dead horse, but….in this instance, what is the Chief gonna do if he DOES come upon someone that needs help ??? He calls back to his destroyed station…the one where the truck and equipment are in shambles…the one where his firefighters are clueless walking around in circles waiting for some kind of direction. His JOB is to organize his department ( whats left of it ) to respond to your said emergencies. You CAN'T tell me that that is what was happening in Milton that day.
KY Chief…..your theory…give every dinger a portable radio and let them speed all over town looking for victims. Wouldn't THAT be the most effective ??? When would it end ???
I'm done. Good luck to the victims and rebuilding your firehouse.
You can clearly heat on the radio that the Asst. Chief arrived at Station # 2 and took over the operations of the incident at that Station. An Incident Command Post was set up a little later in the video which you can hear Chief Long talking to which basically made him operations. In Kentucky, it is the job of the Fire Department that have trained Skywarn weather spotters to do just what was done. Most stay on Station while one goes to a spotting point which he did. Then as you see him trying to see which way the tornado is coming he even alerts people stangind outside to take cover. He then realizes that he is now in the path of the tornado so he attempts to move away from it. Was he speeding? Hell yes he was, he was being chased by a tornado!! If you look at a video of where he was afterwards you would see that it was right on top of him just after he told people to take cover probably saving their lives. He went to the station, checked on his people, left that incident to his well abled Asst. Chief, and continued on looking for more injuries and damage. This department is all Volunteer and none are paid and they do not get tax money, operate on donations only!!! I think they did better than most big cities would have done. There is only one other department in the county and they were all assisting him as well. Also, he needed to check for injuries and try to find help since you can hear they had no EMS units left available. Just think, this Chief did all of this, lost his station and almost lost a Firefighter, Lost equipment, ETC. Then turned around and went back to his full time job. Strange how you can be a critic of such a good deed done by somebody WHO DID NOT HAVE TO ANSWER THE CALL AT ALL, Chief or not. Anyway, I hope people donate to the DONATIONS only department since they will need help.
To really and all the other critics. Firstly I am a member with Milton Fire. We had other trucks and crews out checking areas, Cell phones, well they were not working to well that day and coverage is spotty anyway on a clear day in our county. The sheriff’s department main radio repeater was at our station 2, so there went some other communication that wasn’t working. Walking arouund aimlessly, see we do not have a tax base in our county like other fire departments, so we raise money with fundraisers to support our department. I would say we were shocked, try working hard for for years to build a fire station out of pocket, just to see it spread out over and area of three miles in seconds. There was I/C set up at the emergency operations center. Our county was hit by three seperate tornados from two different supercells 30 minutes apart. Gas leak, yes there was one, we could not shut it off because the gas line was broken off under ground. So until people are there to witness it first hand, don’t be so hard to judge.