An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Westover fire department assists in tornado response

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. James Bishop and 2nd Lt. Andre Bowser
  • 439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --  Westover's fire department responded to a mutual aid call at 7:29 p.m. June 1 after tornadoes left widespread damage in 19 communities in central and western Massachusetts.

The initial request was for a specialized rescue unit and one officer for an incident management team.

"Our response is based on a mutual aid agreement between Westover and 40 neighboring towns," said Col. Robert Swain Jr., commander of Westover's 439th Airlift Wing. "We're always glad to help. This is part of being a good neighbor."

Westover responded with four firefighters and one fire chief. Westover Fire Chief Charles Van Gorden went to the area command center in Palmer, Mass., to coordinate emergency resources.

The firefighters were initially dispatched to Palmer but then were re-directed to West Springfield to help with a damaged nursing home. They assisted in search-and-rescue efforts in several areas throughout the night and performed a victim extraction from a damaged minivan.

Chief Van Gorden and the rescue team of Capt. Robert Guthrie and firefighters David Wilkinson, Nicholas Bush and Mark Litchfield worked until 3:30 a.m. June 2.

Captain Guthrie said one thing was on his mind during the rescue operation: "Getting us out there in one piece."

He said traversing a windy and dangerous terrain made his job difficult.

"You couldn't see; it was bad," Captain Guthrie said about his team responding to multiple locations during the worst of the storms, usually heading in the opposite direction of fleeing motorists

Chief Van Gorden returned to the area command center at 7 a.m. June 2 to coordinate rescue-and-recovery efforts.

Four new firefighters from Westover reported to the staging area at the same time. Capt. Robert Mancini, and firefighters Kenneth McMorris Jr., Roy Cooley and Shawn Martin were told to go to Monson, Mass., to help with a grid search for trapped residents. Their primary focus was accounting for all townspeople and ensuring all homes damaged by the tornado were clear and safe.

Westover firefighters, who specialize in battling flight line blazes, are no strangers to responding to structure fires off base.

In March, they helped fight a fire in a Chicopee factory. Last August they responded to a fire in Holyoke in which three municipal firefighters were injured.