Wiped Off the Map

This article can be found on page 50 of the Nov/Dec 1998 issue of  9-1-1 Magazine.

As with many mid-western communities, the arriving weather front on May 31st had rallied the weather watchers, local members of the Search & Rescue teams who've been tasked with watching out for the ominous black funnels that develop and brutalize the prairies. Allen Jordan is an EMT with McCook County EMS who also volunteers with County Search and Rescue. Allen was one of the first to reach Spencer, arriving about five minutes after the tornado plowed through the city.

The other team was chased away from the city due to the track of the tornado, but we were able to sneak into Spencer from the northeast and it didn't look too terrible," Jordan recalls. "As we reached Main Street, though, we realized the destruction was very bad, and very complete. We were seeing the total devastation of our town."

Rolling into Spencer just as the afternoon light was being lost, Jordan recalls a number of memories. "The usual landmarks we use to orient ourselves were simply gone - 100 year old houses were just in pieces and the city's distinctive water tower was gone." After reaching the center of the town, Jordan found their vehicle was the first arriving unit for many of the survivors. "We had people screaming for help over the hissing of broken gas lines." According to Jordan, being one of the first responders into such destruction meant utilizing his EMT skills for a triage system, keeping in contact with dispatch regarding the level of destruction. "We reassured the survivors that other units would be arriving soon," he added.

McCook County Emergency Management

Indeed, Allen Jordan's early reports of damage to dispatch had triggered help from surrounding communities that would arrive in Spencer shortly. Heading up this concerted effort was the office of Brad Stiefvater, Director of McCook County Emergency Services, which is located ten miles from Spencer in the County Seat of Salem.

Stiefvater has been reviewing tapes of that evening's 9-1-1 calls and found many residents calling in the approaching funnel on their cellular phones. "These reports gave the residents of Spencer about a ten minute alert - which, for tornadoes, is pretty good warning," Stiefvater admits. He also credits the callers from Spencer and dispatchers with gathering the information needed in order to adequately respond. "We immediately put the call out for mutual aid - `send everybody available from anywhere,'" Stiefvator says. "There was no hesitation - we actually had units from surrounding communities arriving un-dispatched."

Stiefvator admits that this sudden swell of vehicles from various communities and organizations did initially create some communication and logistics problems. "One of our big problems was getting the responding units into a proper staging area instead of inside the town," Stiefvator admits and adds that the Highway Patrol helped cordon off the town and directed units into the staging area. "Just getting units directed to a specific spot was difficult since the level of destruction had erased many of the visual reference points, - we couldn't tell them `turn left at the water tower' - the water tower was now gone."

In addition to vehicle traffic, Stiefvator recalls that radio traffic created bottlenecks that caused problems. "The Highway Patrol and National Guard both had command posts and repeaters set up. With so many radios handed out to the volunteers and others, the repeaters simply turned to mush. So, we had to order additional repeaters."

Lessons Learned

Stiefvator believes the experiences in Spencer can provide valuable lessons learned for other departments facing such abrupt and widespread devastation.

He advises that a central command post should use one, single frequency as the authority frequency, "...and only designated department heads have radios for that frequency."

The Incident Commander must be identified and highly visible as quickly as possible - and responding units must be directed to the staging area, according to Stiefvater. "Early on in Spencer, right after the tornado, the arriving Search and Rescue units were self-assigned and went block to block, house to house - and then teams went back doing a more detailed search."

Stiefvator advises emergency personnel to consider their options for management and care of victims during circumstances where all the structures have been flattened. Where an emergency plan called for using schools or fire stations and those are now gone, what do you do? " It became an immediate, real life question for us," Stiefvator noted. " The National Guard Armory in Salem, East of Spencer, was designated and buses were used to transport the `walking wounded' while ambulances and helicopters brought in the more severe injuries." The tragic circumstances of Spencer challenge emergency planners around the country to think about response options when the worst cast scenario actually happens.

"What do you do when everything is gone? ... "

For many communities facing a catastrophic natural disaster, it's assumed the Police and Fire Department will be on hand after the event to lend some level of aid and security to the situation. Yet, for Chief Chuck Roberts and the 23-member Spencer Volunteer Fire Department, Mother Nature proved more than a match for the Department's building and vehicles. "Everything was destroyed when the twister came through," Chief Roberts related. "The minute it hit, our building and four vehicles were suddenly gone - we were wiped out." Chief Roberts added that currently the department is back in business and operating with two donated trucks.

Within minutes outside help was arriving and very soon the State was mobilized. "What we found that you do when everything is gone is to rely on outside help," and Chief Roberts relates that help was arriving from over 100 surrounding communities. "That's sort of the way it is here in South Dakota."

With A Little Help From Our Friends

Now, almost five months after the devastation, Spencer is a town on the mend. Residents have decided on their future - some will start over and rebuild and others have chosen to move on. Lessons have been learned and buildings are scheduled for construction including the new volunteer fire station, which is waiting, along with Chief Roberts, for Federal money. Of all the lessons learned perhaps none is as important as knowing that what you do when everything is gone is rely on help from your neighbors - because that's just the way it is here in South Dakota.