Englewood, Tennessee Fire Chief Billy Roach says one of his crews had worked about 20 hours fighting wildfires in Gatlinburg that killed at least seven people. Then when deadly winds blew in from Alabama, the Englewood firefighters rushed home to McMinn county, to help storm-related rescue operations.
“They’re wore out,” Roach said at a press conference. “They’ve had very little sleep. I know I’ve had two hours since Monday morning. We’re just to the limits.”
Also in this story, WUTC’s Jacqui Helbert visits an emergency shelter in McMinn and meets a couple who survived a harrowing night.