Columbus County Community Chat

Acme-Delco-Riegelwood Fire-Rescue Chiefs Steve Camlin and Donna Hammond remove draping from a monument outside the fire station during a ceremony Saturday honoring victims of the 2006 Riegelwood tornado.

Staff photo by Mark Gilchrist

By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer

Steve Camlin refused to let Saturday be entirely a day of mourning.

The chief of Acme-Delco-Riegelwood Fire-Rescue told the crowd at Saturday’s monument dedication that the killer tornado of a year ago should be remembered not just for the lives lost, but for the way a community came together.

“It’s a day we need to remember,” Camlin said, “but even when we saw lives taken, we saw lives saved.”

Rescue chief Donna Hammond said the community is still healing.

“It’s been a long year,” she said. “We need to remember the lives lost, and celebrate them, too.”

The F3 tornado struck a mobile home park in the pre-dawn hours, killing eight people, injuring dozens and destroying or damaging most of the homes along Pretty Branch and Holly Tree lanes.

O’Keon Tennell Wilson, Tyesha McKoy Wilson, Suley Ruiz Martinez, Danny Ruiz Jacobs, Miguel Angel Jurado, Timothy Carl Mai, Mary Ann Gasper Mai, and Timothy Michael Browne died in the storm.

Browne was a member of ADR Fire-Rescue. He and his daughter Cheyenne lived with Browne’s parents, the Mais.

Camlin related how Browne’s body was found five feet from his daughter, who was seriously injured.

“Mike was a firefighter, and he died a hero,” Camlin said, “trying to help Cheyenne.”

Cheyenne was at Saturday’s service with her grandmother, Glinda Browne. She was carried in to the service by Chris Cumber, in a procession of more than 100 firefighters, rescue workers, law enforcement and other first responders. Cumber cared for Cheyenne during the first part of her recovery.

Four-year-old Cheyenne has another year of therapy to complete, according to Glinda Browne. She said Cheyenne attends day care, and wants to follow fire trucks.

The little girl recently completed eight weeks of swimming lessons, and goes to dance class every Tuesday.

“She loves it,” Glinda Browne. “She’s come a long way.”

Camlin and Hammond helped Cheyenne present certificates to Will White and Brandy Jacobs. When firefighters needed an emergency neck brace for Cheyenne, White yanked off his own shirt and rolled it up. He continued to help care for Cheyenne despite being bare-chested in the near-freezing temperatures and driving rain, Camlin said.

Camlin and Hammond described how Mike Browne was “a fire chief’s dream.

“He didn’t question. He didn’t talk back, and he was all muscle,” Camlin said.

The chiefs were first concerned whether the quiet and soft spoken Browne would fit in with the ADR crew, Hammond said. Camlin said the chiefs decided to “just find out.

“Mike would surprise you,” Camlin said. “We learned that. He became a member of the ADR family.

“Mike wasn’t what you might think,” Camlin said. “He drove a minivan with a child safety seat in the back, but he drove it like it was a Camaro or a Mustang.”

Camlin noted that Browne couldn’t concentrate on his fire and rescue training unless he knew Cheyenne was taken care of first.

“The last thing he did was try to help Cheyenne,” Camlin said, “and the day after he died, his certificate came in. He died a firefighter.”

The 88-inch tall memorial, which is shaped like the Washington monument, was made by Cole Monument Works in Whiteville and paid for through donations.

The obelisk lists the names of the dead on one side, along with the names of every Columbus County fire department, rescue squad, emergency communications office, and law enforcement agency that responded to the tornado.

Several firefighters were overheard calling the monument the “Plan Seven” marker, using the worst-case scenario plan ADR has had in place for years, but never activated before the tornado.

James E. Horrell-Hammond, a volunteer with ADR Fire-Rescue, said the monument is more a reminder of the future rather than a symbol of the past tragedy.

“We want this to be a memento of a future in which the members of Ransom Township and the surrounding communities will continue to grow,” he said Thursday, “and become stronger despite the opposition of uncontrollable events that life presents.”

Glinda Browne wiped away tears and exchanged hugs with well-wishers as fire and rescue personnel spent time with Cheyenne. For many of them, it was the first time they’d seen Cheyenne since she was last at the fire station with her father a few days before the storm.

“Mike was all about that little girl,” she said. “She loves this department and these people, and they love her.”
Ronald Allen, Mike Browne’s boss, attended Saturday’s event with Glinda Browne and Cheyenne.

“Mike was the ideal employee,” he said. “He was never late without telling me. He worked hard. He was serious about his job.”

“I tried to tell him sometimes to take a day off because he was sick,” Glinda said. “He wouldn’t do it. He was serious about his work, and all he wanted to do was take care of his daughter and help people.”

Saturday’s service was one of four in the community over the weekend. A private service was held Friday at Christ the King Catholic Church, and another was held there on Sunday, followed by a multi-faith time of prayer at the disaster site. A service was also held at 4 p.m. at the community building.

Congressman Mike McIntyre was the featured speaker at Saturday’s event. He quoted Psalm 138, emphasizing the verse that reads “and mercy endures forever.”

“As soon as the storm struck, this entire community came together,” McIntyre said. “People didn’t wonder what to do – they jumped in to help their neighbors. The N.C. Baptist Men Disaster workers, the churches, the other groups…everyone came here to help.”

Earnestine Keaton of the Sandyfield Citizens Corps and the Community Emergency Response Team – a first response group that deployed for the first time during the tornado – handed out disaster preparedness materials from a table near the fire station driveway.

“We hope it doesn’t happen again,” she said, “but we need to be ready.”

Camlin said the disaster gave many people a different view of the fire and rescue training which takes months to complete.

“I know there was a time before the storm some of the husbands and wives and girlfriends and boyfriends thought we were just getting away from the house,” he said. “…training takes up a lot of time away from your family.

“Since that day when we had 200 people on the ground helping their neighbors,” Camlin said, “there hasn’t been a lot of nagging.”

“Everybody did a miraculous job that day,” Camlin said. “I’m proud of every single one of them and the way they reacted.”