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Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . 2➤ Entertainment . . . . . . 6-7 Spring Farming . . . . 8-15
Vol. 55, No. 43
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
Warsaw to the Rescue
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
SAFETY ON PA TROL — Will tant fire chie Kornrumph, as f for the War sissaw-Wayne Fi stands by the re Territory, vehicle he took tornado hit th to Lake Village af e town Tuesda ter a y, March 10.
Will Kornrumph serves as a safety officer after tornado hits Lake Village
By NATHAN PACE Staff Writer When a tornado hit Lake Village Tuesday, March 10, houses were leveled and two fatalities occurred. Back in Warsaw the next morning, Will Kornrumph was asked if he could help. Kornrumph is the assistant fire chief for the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory. “I had no idea I was going and I ended up getting a phone call at 8:30 in the morning from the State EOC (Emergency Operations Center),” Kornrumph said. “They said, ‘Hey, your name was mentioned, we need you to be a safety officer for the tornado that went through.’ It was one of those deals of ‘How quick can you get here.’”
Quickly, Kornrumph notified his department, packed a bag and made the two-hour drive to the Newton County town. “On my way in there was some devastation but not really until I hit Lake Village,” Kornrumph said. “Once I hit there and started going out and about it was just devastation. Houses were just destroyed. They looked like toothpicks you would drop on the ground. It was just a sight you would never forget.” Kornrumph became the overall safety officer at the site. He coordinated crews and volunteers who were on hand to help. “It was my responsibility to make sure everybody was staying safe and not stepping on any power lines. Not going into any houses that they were not suppose
DEBRIS CLEANUP — Insulation from a destroyed home can be found in tree limbs in Lake Village. Photo provided by Will Kornrumph.
to go into,” Kornrumph said. First responders and volunteers had conducted a search of the destroyed properties by the time Kornrumph arrived but a more detailed secondary search was being done to make sure nothing was missed. “Just figuring where we’re at,” Kornrumph said. “Do we need to search any more homes? Has everything been searched? Is everybody staying safe? Is everybody staying hydrated? Different little things like that.” The tornado was classified as an EF-3 tornado, as it had wind speeds around 150 mph. It originated from a supercell near Kankakee, Illinois that produced a total of 12 tornadoes in the evening. Kornrumph returned home Saturday, March 14, as his final days on-site dealt with coordinating volunteers, stockpiling supplies and cutting up downed trees. “I think we had 100 volunteers out that day. Making sure everybody has gloves on. Everybody has safety vests on, hardhats, safety glasses and ear protection. Just kind of things we take for granted and not even think about,” Kornrumph said. “Make sure everyone has enough food and water. Saturday, we handed it back to Newton County officials.” Seeing the damage and finding ways to comfort those who lost their homes are aspects from his time in Lake Village Kornrumph will remember the most. “Just the amount of devastation that it does and how it can bounce around from house to house,” Kornrumph said. “One house can be destroyed and you go a little bit further and the next house is just missing some shingles or something. Not knowing what to do on how to ease the traumatic event that the people just went through. Other than be nice and help them out as much as you can.” This was the not the first time where Kornrumph traveled to a site after a storm as he did so to North Carolina after Hurricane Florence in 2018. Also to Henryville, following a tornado there in 2012. Each time he goes as a safety officer, he learns a little bit more on how to handle heavy storm damage should it happen in Kosciusko County. “It just helps in making sure that we’re better prepared and that we’ll be able to serve our citizens and communities a lot faster. Keep them as safe as we possibly can and give them the help that they need. I pick up a little bit here and there. What works and what doesn’t work. How to make things more efficient. The big thing I always take away is just being there for the community.”