Heroes 2020 ~ Darrell Jennings

FIREFIGHTER / EMT SAVES NEIGHBORS
AFTER TENNESSEE TORNADO

Firefighter made living room triage center
to save neighbors hit by Tennessee tornado

As soon as the tornado passed, Putnam County firefighter and EMT Darrell Jennings went outside to an “unbelievable sight” — his home was the only one standing.

“I heard screams and I looked to my right — none of my neighbors’ houses were there. They were gone,” he told ABC News on Tuesday. “As lightning flashed, I could see the subdivision side — the only thing standing was a tree.”

Jennings, a 32-year veteran firefighter, said he then immediately put his years of training into action and put out a call for injured neighbors to be taken to his home.

“As soon as I saw the destruction, I had my fire department radio, I called in… and said, ‘I need you to send me everything we have. Everything around me is destroyed,'” he recalled.

Jennings said he treated at least 20 injured neighbors, including several children, in his living room, where he checked for pulses, assessed breathing and gave sternal rubs.

“The floor was covered with people,” he said.

(from ABC News – read more)