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Wlaf1450TOP PHOTO: Ten members of the La Follette Rescue Squad were able to put their lives, families and jobs on hold to lend a helping hand today in Putnam County. Left to right: Back row Jason Paulaski, Brian Gamble, Noah Lemasters, Jackie Heatherly, Tristan Nelson and Abi Breeden. Front row Dylan Leach, Jessica Claiborne, Charles Hutson and Stephanie Gamble.
Nature’s most violent storm, the tornado, ripped through Middle Tennessee in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
COOKEVILLE, TN (WLAF) – Members of the La Follette Rescue Squad are on their way back home at this hour after a full day in Putnam County.
Ten members of the squad were able to put their lives, families and jobs on hold to lend a helping hand today. Putnam County and the greater Cookeville area suffered devastating damage from Tuesday morning’s tornadoes.
This is the residential area where members of the LRS spent Wednesday combing through rubble and debris.
La Follette Rescue Squad Chief Charles Hutson said, “We headed out about seven this morning. There is so much extensive damage over such a large area that several squads from Region 2 and 3 were required to clear areas of the debris field.”
LRS members provided search and recovery support for an area along Highway 70 about four miles west of Cookeville. Hutson describes that area as high residential comprised of subdivisions and apartments.
An upside down SUV and a child’s toy car serve as reminders that there are names and faces behind all the devastation.
Hutson sadly noted that they’ve still not accounted for everyone yet. As he and the crew left out this afternoon, there were still 14 folks unaccounted for. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 03/04/2020-5PM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF LRS CHIEF CHARLES HUTSON)