Menu
Putnam County CERT assists in Sullivan tornado efforts
SULLIVAN — When its efforts are to be spoken for, the Putnam County Community Emergency Response Team made a difference in Sullivan a week ago.
Convening for an after-action briefing Friday evening, CERT members touched on how the community looked to them for leadership. Challenges with communication and assessing the destruction emphasized the volunteer team’s preparation for such an event.
Three people were killed as the EF-3 tornado swept through the southern part of the city the evening of March 31 and ripped homes from their foundations. The wind speed at its impact was determined at 155 mph.
It was one of at least 19 tornadoes which touched down then in Indiana. An EF-3 tornado caused major damage in Whiteland, while two campers were killed in another that went through McCormick’s Creek State Park in Owen County.
Gov. Eric Holcomb declared a state of emergency for both Sullivan and Johnson counties the next morning after local officials did for the area locally. Such declarations are aligned with reimbursing costs for resources utilized in a response.
Putnam County EMA Director Dave Costin was sent out to assist with getting communications online as the response got in motion. Meanwhile, Lt. Brandon Watson and Engineer Paul Hinton of the Greencastle Fire Department went with a mobile command unit as a communications point.
Watson and Hinton were sent to relieve another unit, but soon returned after Sullivan County’s emergency operations center gained capabilities. While communications went down again, Costin consulted with Chief Sarah Owen and CERT was deployed for debris, damage assessment and possibly search and rescue.
Though not expecting to travel until the next Sunday, a request came for CERT to establish a commodity point of distribution (CPOD) on the respective Saturday afternoon. Within an hour of that call, it was swapped out and on its way.
When the initial team of 15 arrived at the scene, CERT was tasked with volunteer management in alignment with having the CPOD at an event venue. With a team of 10 on Sunday and then one of five, they passed out clothing and food until they returned the next Monday evening.
CERT volunteer Russell Evans likened the scale of the destruction being akin to B, C, D and F avenues in Greencastle effectively being gone.
As to damage assessment, it took approximately three hours to cover the area and get the information to emergency management. CERT’s data and photos were used by the National Weather Service to confirm the tornado as an EF-3.
Overall, one issue brought up was organizing the slew of civilian volunteers which came to help with the effort. A need was stressed for greater security and communication between personnel and with volunteers and the media.
For Costin, ensuring volunteers are properly trained stems from lessons learned with the tornado that ravaged Henryville in 2012. Well-intentioned people made up even more casualties, and it was because they did not know how to be safe.
“We need to train people to know how to do this, so that when the day comes, our response will be safer and more organized and more efficient,” Costin told the Banner Graphic.
Owing to personnel conducting a state-level CPOD training last year, CERT was depended upon as the single such team that could meet the mission. But there was still a point where being objective met with seeing the destruction as it was.
“For us, we’ve got a job; it doesn’t hit you until later,” CERT Deputy Chief Jeff Wonser said. “Your brain is thinking, ‘Where am I going next? Where am I stepping next?’ And then you sit down and go, ‘Holy cow, what did I just see?’”
First responders have to be focused being on a timeline. Being clinical, though, becomes hard interacting and sympathizing with the victims. What brought the humanity out, CERT Unit Outreach Leader Mary Owen related, was that they cared about what their neighbors needed.
“While I tried to keep thinking that, this is their community and it’s not mine, at the end of the day these people are our people,” Owen said to that.
CERT member PJ Paul related how some victims told him that they did not realize how much possessions do not matter, that is until they are all lost. Trying to talk some into taking more from the CPOD was difficult.
Perhaps one of the most consequential parts of the effort was teaching local volunteers on how to handle needs for the longer term. Part and parcel of this was the teamwork needed to ensure safety and effective use of resources. But it is the simple kindness that has stayed prevalent.
“You’re part of this response team, and you’re part of helping set up the community to take care of themselves, and people are just pouring in, and they all want to help,” Chief Owen said. “To see that in person was just stunning.”
On the volunteer side, a sense of purpose comes in putting that training into action. But as was professed by CERT Senior Adviser Dave Owen, improvement is continual to be even better prepared for the next disaster.
Everyone in the room agreed that CERT is in need of more volunteers who can bring various skill sets and perspectives. Apart from equipment needs, it is all about the training and taking on leadership roles.
“We’ll teach you the skills; we just want them to bring the desire, and that thing that kinda gets in your blood,” Owen said to the point.