ROCHELLE — After hearing a report that a tornado had hit northwest of Rochelle on April 9, 2015, then-Rochelle Fire Department Lt. Dave Sawlsville left the RFD fire station with a crew heading towards that area. While on Illinois Route 251, they saw it for themselves.
“When we got to Flagg Road I could see the tornado north of town moving to the east,” Sawlsville, now RFD’s chief, said. “You could see it clear as a bell. And we were sitting at the intersection watching it and it wasn't even raining on us. We went west on Flagg Road towards the area that was hit. That was when we saw the devastation. Houses were leveled.”
RFD personnel arrived on scene prepared to administer care to anyone in need. Amid all of the destruction, they found no fires, gas leaks or injuries in the areas of Skare Court and Cherry Hill.
One individual had to be helped from a basement in Cherry Hill, but there was no house above it to free them from. Only a ladder was required. The EF4 tornado damaged 179 structures in Ogle County and destroyed 20-30 homes in rural Rochelle after winds reached over 200 miles per hour.
“It was absolutely crazy the way that call evolved,” Sawlsville said. “Nobody was missing. With that kind of devastation you expect to see injuries, and there was just nothing.”
RFD and Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District personnel were then called to Grubsteakers restaurant at 14698 Illinois Route 64 for a report of people trapped in its basement after the tornado hit the building.
One individual was found injured outside at that location and transported to an area hospital. 12 people were trapped in the basement for nearly 90 minutes before RFD, OLFPD and Lynn-Scott-Rock Fire Protection District personnel freed them.
“The building had substantial damage but the floor joists held,” Sawlsville said. “They were just trapped. There were no other injuries. We cleared the basement doorway and 12 people walked out of that structure. As you're approaching the scene and that restaurant is gone, you think, 'Oh my God.' You wonder if it's going to be a building collapse with search and rescue and what it's going to take to move the debris. You have to figure out what you're actually dealing with. We could have needed big cranes. But all we needed was a chainsaw. You walk around the building three times and know what you need to do to help people. The owner of the restaurant herded all the customers outside and into the basement through an exterior door.”
Sawlsville said that with immediate limited resources and after seeing the large tornado making its way east earlier on, the ride down Flagg Road towards the damaged area was a long one.
“Because we didn't know what was waiting for us when we got there,” Sawlsville said. “Am I going to have five houses on fire or people laying in the street? We didn't know. We didn't know what we'd need. We wanted to get it right whether it was for fires or injuries or both. It took us two minutes to get there and see. But it felt like 20 minutes. We very quickly realized that what we needed was just accountability of all of the people.”
Sawlsville attributes the lack of injuries on April 9, 2015 to people taking weather warnings seriously and getting to safe places in their homes. He said the community members impacted made sure their neighbors knew the seriousness of the situation.
The RFD chief is thankful that people were prepared and that the tornado didn’t then shift towards more densely-populated areas.
“It was a sight to behold,” Sawlsville said. “It's one of those 'Could have been' things. There are schools and mobile home communities that could have been in the path. The tornado covered a lot of farm ground and an occasional farm house. If you have to have an EF4, you want it to stay out in rural areas. We were incredibly fortunate.”
After helping people at Grubsteakers, first responders cleared farmhouses and structures in the path of the tornado. Neighboring fire departments then started to arrive in the area to strengthen the response. After nobody else was found to be missing or injured, debris removal became the next task.
The next morning yielded mutual aid task forces, volunteers from relief organizations Samaritan’s Purse and The Red Cross, community members and area contractors to help with cleanup.
“The debris removal was very organized and methodical and there was a lot of volunteer help,” Sawlsville said. “We got our arms around where to send people if they wanted to make donations. We didn't anticipate 1,800 volunteers showing up. That was awesome. You have to support that effort with things like portable restrooms and food. We had a command center at the Flagg Center fire station and had incoming fire departments report there. Local restaurants sent so much food out there for first responders, which was awesome to see. There's a tremendous amount of resources out there to help. You just have to tap into them and be able to support them.”
Sawlsville said he believes the emergency response system worked well in response to the tornado. The experience gave area first responders a chance to learn for potential future events like it.
RFD’s chief says he now feels more prepared for spring storms due to that experience, with improved warning technology and the community now knowing from experience to take them seriously. 10 years later, Sawlsville still marvels at the outpouring of support from the community following the tornado.
“It was awesome to see,” Sawlsville said. “And not just in big ways, but in so many small ways. Local contractors showed up with heavy equipment to clear large debris. Ordinary citizens showed up with their work gloves to pick up debris and were raking people's lawns. Samaritan's Purse was a great organization and showed up with hundreds of people. Within four days, other than the buildings that were gone, you would not have known a tornado had hit. It just looked like a subdivision that was under construction. It was a sight to see.”
Outside of his capacity with RFD, Sawlsville does disaster response work around the country. He’s seen firsthand how disasters like tornadoes, hurricanes and wildland fires are becoming more severe. He wants the community to understand what that means,
“I would encourage people to be aware of their surroundings and what's going on with the weather,” Sawlsville said. “We're seeing crazy events that we've never seen before. And I believe they’re only going to continue to get worse. It's probably time to have more of those preparatory conversations. Tell your kids when those sirens go off, it's time to go. That day, we were all hands on deck and maxed out in terms of capabilities. Our goal is always to help people, but there's only so much we can do right off the bat. Whatever you can do to prepare and help yourself can give us a good start.”
