TWISTERS TERRORIZE Sunshine State

In the predawn hours of last February 2, while most residents of Central Florida slept, a lethal swath of tornadoes swept through the area, leaving death, destruction and damage in its wake. Lake, Sumter and Volusia counties received the brunt of what was the second-deadliest tornado event in Florida's history. According to the National Weather Service, the tornadoes were as strong as 3s on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with wind speeds of up to 155-165 mph.

     A tornado warning was issued at 3:06 a.m. for northern Lake and Sumter counties, which included the communities of Paisley, Lake Griffin, Lady Lake, The Villages, Emeralda and Lisbon. The NWS reported that the first tornado touched down near Wildwood in Sumter County at 3:08 a.m., then crossed into Lake County, lifting east of Lady Lake at 3:25. Post-storm surveys indicated a track length of 16.5 miles. Eight fatalities and dozens of injuries were associated with this tornado.

     The second tornado touched down in rural eastern Lake County at 3:37 and devastated the Lake Mack area before crossing into Volusia County. This tornado also reached EF-3. It had a track length of 26 miles and caused 13 fatalities and, once again, dozens of injuries. All of those killed in both communities lived in manufactured housing.

The Early Response
     Lake-Sumter EMS, as the provider of emergency medical services to the region, responded immediately to multiple impact sites in both Lake and Sumter counties. At the time the tornadoes touched down, the agency had 22 ambulances in service--16 in Lake County and six in Sumter. Lake-Sumter EMS also utilizes quick-response vehicles staffed with single paramedics and full ALS equipment. These are primarily deployed in the rural areas of Lake and Sumter counties to provide rapid first response ALS services. Seven QRVs were in service and responded to the impacted areas.

     To keep pace with the anticipated call volume, eight additional ambulances were put into service, with four deployed to each county. Five additional QRVs joined the first responder fleet.

     At the time the tornadoes struck, Lake-Sumter EMS was at normal staffing. Over the next few hours, operational staffing increased nearly 40%. The 29 paramedics and 22 EMTs on duty when the tornadoes hit were soon joined by 13 additional paramedics and eight more EMTs, many of whom called in to the communications center for assignments in the early hours of the disaster.

     As a result of the tornadoes, Lake-Sumter EMS experienced a spike in 9-1-1 calls for several hours following the storms' initial impact. The Lake-Sumter EMS Communications Center not only handles all calls for EMS, but also dispatches for 11 fire departments. The system realized an increase in call volume of more than 40%. Increases in unit staffing closely mirrored those in call volumes.

     In the first two hours of the incident, Lake-Sumter EMS responded to 100 EMS calls. A total of 144 patients were transported in the first 24 incident hours. From 3 a.m. to noon, EMS crews transported 70 patients, 58 of them with storm-related injuries and conditions. The service usually averages 102 transports every 24 hours.

     These patients suffered primarily traumatic injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, long bone fractures, blunt/multisystem trauma and serious lacerations. There were also several stress-related cardiac emergencies and hundreds of patients requiring basic first aid. Given the time of day and intensity of the damage in the impacted communities, that hundreds were not killed or critically injured is nothing short of miraculous.

     The high volume of transports and loss of life during that crucial time frame provide only a small reflection of the extremely difficult conditions in which Lake-Sumter EMS first responders operated. While saving lives and responding to emergencies is all in a day's work for these providers, the tornadoes created situations far outside the conditions of normal operations. Downed power lines, uprooted trees and metal and debris from damaged homes and vehicles were common obstacles during the early hours of response.