HELENA — Being a first responder means answering the call, no matter the conditions. During Wednesday’s historic wind storm, that commitment was put to the test across Helena.
“I’ve lived in the valley my whole life, and yesterday was probably one of the worst wind events we’ve ever had,” said David Hamilton, West Valley fire chief.
It was all hands on deck. Truck bays were empty, and stations were quiet as every available first responder was out in the field helping where they could.
Volunteers stepped away from their day-to-day responsibilities to respond to calls that just kept coming in, one after another. The West Valley Fire chief says it’s all a part of the job.
“That’s what drives most of our volunteer firemen, is trying to give back ot the community and support our community in a time of need,” Hamilton said.
Helena Fire was also one of the responding agencies. Officers off duty came in to help with the overwhelming number of calls, where a busy day for them is around 20, and yesterday they had 75.
“It was a very, very busy day,” said Mike Chambers, Helena Fire assistant fire chief. “But between dispatch and the amount of calls they handled, and the communication we had, things went really darn well.”
The Lewis and Clark dispatch center made history, and the numbers tell the story. They received over 1,000 calls, 300% higher than the daily average. The calls for service were a record 506.
“It was hectic,” said Elizabeth Shorter-Lewis, Lewis and Clark County 911 dispatcher. “We were pretty much fighting for our lives at that point in time.”
While there were no injuries reported from the winds, damage across town was catastrophic, with calls ranging from downed power lines to vehicles rolling over on the highway to trees falling everywhere.
“I know I had a call where someone had a tree fall on his car while he was driving,” Shorter-Lewis said.
Many volunteered to come in on their day off, skipped breaks, and did whatever they could to help the public.
“So we just had to come up collectively with a solution, and you just have to keep going,” Shorter-Lewis said.
First responders say the work is far from over as damage assessments continue. They’re thanking dispatchers and other emergency crews for their around-the-clock efforts and asking the public to remain patient as the city continues cleanup and recovery.
