NORMAN — Little Axe Fire Chief Allen Schneider and EMSStat paramedic Steve Yarbrough can’t forget the faces they came across Monday night after separate EF4 tornadoes demolished buildings and injured scores of people.
Emergency workers in Cleveland County were advised early Monday about the heightened risk of severe weather.
“We knew it was coming,” Yarbrough said.
Around 5:30 p.m. Monday, skies grew dark and funnel clouds began to form. Minutes later, those clouds dropped to the ground, spinning paths of destruction.
Yarbrough was at his home in Bethel Acres when he learned about the tornadoes. He knew about the possibility of casualties. He grabbed his gear and raced to Norman.
Schneider took cover inside his house when tornadoes ripped through Norman, Little Axe and Newalla.
“Our power was out when the tornado hit,” Schneider said.
Minutes later, a fellow firefighter alerted Schneider that a tornado had indeed touched down.
“I knew it was time to go,” he said.
Yarbrough said as he drove west on State Highway 9, he didn’t find much debris. That was until he reached Country Boy IGA near 180th Avenue SE.
Tornadoes nearly destroyed the grocery store. Yarbrough stopped his truck, grabbed medical supplies and tended to the hurt.
“I don’t know how many people we treated,” Yarbrough said.
The National Weather Service has upgraded the two tornadoes Monday to EF-4 status and said both had wind speeds of between 166 mph and 200 mph. The weather service originally rated the two tornadoes as EF-3 storms. Fewer than 5 percent of tornadoes are rated as EF-3 or higher.
Rick Smith, a warning coordination meteorologist with the weather service, says the agency upgraded the status of the two storms after looking at photographic evidence and visiting damage sites that had previously been closed off.
Schneider said as he drove south on 192nd Avenue, he caught a closer look at the destruction.
“I was shocked. When I got on the hill, the hillside was leveled,” he said.
A tornado obliterated a housing addition near 192nd Avenue and Rock Creek Road, he said.
“The damage was quite devastating,” he said.
The 192nd Avenue and Rock Creek intersection was blocked. Schneider said he and Cleveland County deputies immediately searched for victims.
During his search, Schneider found a mobile home frame in the ditch at 192nd and Rock Creek Road.
“I knew it wasn’t supposed to be there,” he said.
Yarbrough said after he treated patients at Country Boy IGA, he traveled to a neighborhood near 192nd Avenue and Rock Creek Road. The images shocked Yarbrough.
“When we turned north on 192nd, it caught me off guard,” he said. “I didn’t know it was that big.”
Schneider said he attempted to contact Little Axe firefighters using his portable radio. However, that didn’t work.
“The radio system was completely over used,” he said.
Schneider and Yarbrough treated patients who had suffered anything from minor to severe injuries.
Once patients were on their way to the hospital, Schneider drove to Country Boy IGA. He helped Cleveland County deputies set up an incident command center.
Schneider arranged search teams to find victims. He left the command post at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. He returned about six hours later.
Early Tuesday, crews resumed search efforts for survivors.
“We went through and did another last search so we could account for everybody,” he said.
Yarbrough said after he took victims to Norman Regional Hospital, he went back to Country Boy IGA.
By that time, Dr. Pat Cody, an emergency room physician at Norman Regional Hospital had arrived.
“I just came to be here for triage,” he said.
Cody said, in general, tornado victims may suffer injuries from broken glass and flying debris.
“Most injuries treated tend to be soft tissue,” he said.
EMSStat paramedics utilized the department’s Mobile Intensive Care Unit on Monday night. The unit is larger than an ordinary ambulance and carries more equipment.
Yarbrough’s co-worker James Hale, a critical care paramedic, said he cared for two pediatric patients inside the MICU.
“All I had to do was turn it on,” he said. “It had everything I needed.”
Hale treated the children as they were taken to Norman Regional Hospital.
Yarbrough said EMSStat and Norman Regional Hospital have participated in previous disaster drills. Teams of doctors and nurses were ready for victims when ambulances pulled up to the hospital.
“When we hit the doors of the ER, beds were lined up,” he said.
Yarbrough said EMSStat will review Monday’s procedures to evaluate what worked and areas that need improvement.
“We have a very dedicated group of people,” Yarbrough said, adding that more departments may have assisted.
“I want to thank everyone that helped out,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
