Members of Indiana Task Force 1 work to remove heavy debris from the remains of a candle factory at Mayfield Consumer Products in Mayfield, Kentucky earlier this week.
A pair of Johnson County firefighters who were among a team of first responders sent to Western Kentucky to assist in search and rescue efforts returned home Thursday.
Bargersville Community Fire Department Battalion Chief Sean Campbell and Greenwood firefighter Rob Stecher were among the 45 personnel from Indiana Task Force No. 1 sent first to Mayfield, then to Dawson Springs, after twisters slammed five states — Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee — last Friday into Saturday. The National Weather Service recorded at least 41 tornadoes, including 16 in Tennessee and eight in Kentucky, and at least 88 people — including 74 in Kentucky — were killed in the outbreak, the Associated Press reported.
The task force arrived back in Indianapolis Thursday afternoon and, per protocol, all members were tested for COVID-19. Members also had to undergo a mandatory 48-hour rehab period before they were allowed to return to work, according to a Task Force No. 1 news release.
The task force arrived in Mayfield late on Saturday, and began operations on Sunday at a candle factory at Mayfield Consumer Products. Mayfield, a city of 10,000 about 300 miles south of Johnson County, was among the hardest hit by the tornado outbreak.
Tuesday, the task force moved northeast to Dawson Springs — another Kentucky city that was hit hard. In Dawson Springs, a city of nearly 2,500, homes were reduced to rubble and trees toppled, littering the landscape for a span of at least a mile, the AP reported.
