September 20, 2002

Tornado strikes White River Township

          At approximately 1:39pm on Friday, September 20, 2002, a tornado entered White River Township cutting a path than ran from about SR 144 and SR 37 on up to Fry Rd and SR 135.  The same F3 tornado began in West Central Indiana and continued nearly all the way across the state finally dissipating near Muncie.  The storm was estimated to have traveled over 100 miles and was entered into the record books as the second longest-lasting tornado in Indiana history.  The storm did extensive damage to Station 52 and minor damage to Station 51.  Station 53 was unscathed in the incident.  White River Twp Fire Department responded to over 60 calls in the 24 hours following the storm, from individuals trapped in buildings and vehicles, to natural gas leaks and structure fires.  For a department with an average daily call volume of 5 incidents, this stretched resources to the maximum.  Thanks to surrounding fire departments, the many businesses, individuals, and other emergency agencies that assisted, the department was able to mitigate all of the cases without incident and in a timely manner.  No one within the 18 square-mile response district was seriously injured or killed as a result of the storm. 

Story by Scott Cassin, Battalion Chief, White River Twp Fire Department
Photos by Scott Cassin, Amanda Cassin, and Julie Settles

 

            Most of the photos below are from the damaged fire stations, however a few were of general damage seen throughout the fire district.  The audio clips are from actual dispatch tapes made from some of the radio transmissions that day.  

Station 52 Damage Photos
Station 51 Damage Photos
Other Damage Photos

 

Audio Files
Tornado Warning issued for area.	Station 52 is hit by tornado.	Everyone OK at Station 52.	Serenity Court - lines  & trees down.	Runyon Road damage.
Part of radio system is down.	People trapped in car.	Damage reported in Brentwood.	Greenwood FD offers help.	Baby delivery.

 

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