Local heroes honored for tornado rescue efforts

WMFD honors firefighters who aided in during Wynne weather disaster

By DON WILBURN

donaldfwilburn@gmail.com

Fourteen firefighters from the West Memphis Fire Department were honored last week in a special presentation at City Hall for their participation in aiding the city of Wynne after deadly tornadoes ripped through the heart of the city on March 31st earlier this year.

“A little time machine here, going back, the air here in the mid-south was soupy” began Division Chief Robert Mabe solemnly, “The national weather service pretty much put a target over our area. We knew it was coming and it was just a question of where.”

Chief Mabe went on to say that a preparations meeting was called early in the day by Mayor Marco McClendon to make sure West Memphis was ready, but that as soon as the tornado touched down outside of Wynne his phone began ringing off the hook.

“I’m here, I’m ready, where do I need to go?” was the question most often asked to Mabe by firefighters both on and off duty. After corralling his people to make sure West Memphis was still covered, Mabe sent the first wave of volunteers to Wynne less than an hour after the twister struck.

Firefighters arrived and immediately helped out in extended operations, intensive search and rescue and in the following days, giving the men and women of the Wynne fire department a much needed rest by attending to day to day operations.

“The 14 names honored today are not the only members who should be recognized because I probably turned away twice as many who wanted to go, but we need them here to cover the city. Which is no surprise because the men and women of our department are simply amazing.” said Mabe before he called out the first 12 names:

■ ■ Captain James Allensworth

■ ■ Captain Zachary Bailey

■ ■ Firefighter Stoney Burns

See FIREFIGHTERS, page A3

The WMFD honored several of their members who assisted the city of Wynne after a tornado struck in March of 2023

Photo by Don Wilburn FIREFIGHTERS

From page A1

■ Fire_ghter Adam Fields

■ Fire_ghter Harvey Flowers

■ Lieutenant Drake Holt

■ Lieutenant Mark Johnson

■ Fire_ghter Earnest Seard

■ Lieutenant Garrett Taylor

■ Fire_ghter Robert Thornton

■ FireFighter Tyler Walls

■ Battalion Chief Kevin Catt “The _re department is a brotherhood and we will always send as many as we can. We hope it never happens to us but we know if it does, they will be on the way.” said Battalion Chief Kevin Catt upon receiving his certi_cate of recognition.

Chief Mabe then called up Fire_ghters Nicholas Cupples and Noah Holt saying that they were “Involved in a true rescue operation, a man in his home was on his couch watching tv when a tree came down on his roof and he was trapped underneath or hours.”

“My son lives in Wynne and called me as the tornado was hitting.” said Cupples, “He is also very close to Noah. All we could think about was getting there. Somehow Noah got there faster from Leechville to Wynne faster than I made it there from Memphis. I don’t know how, but I’m not gonna ask questions. The captain said ‘I got a man trapped and I need you there’. We used the tactics we were taught and after about an hour, we freed him.”

Cupples said that they had reached out to the rescued man and that even though he was unable to make it to the presentation, he expressed his gratitude to the men for saving his life. He _nished by saying “But gratitude is not why I do it. I do it because I love it.”