WHITMER, W.Va. — When the skies opened and the creeks began to rise, like most first responders, the tiny Whitmer Volunteer Fire Department in Randolph County was immediately mobilized. However, the calls for help didn’t come from their own town, but from the neighboring communities of Job and Harman.
“We were in pretty good shape here in Whitmer, but we were cut off and couldn’t get anywhere,” said Whitmer VFD Chief Clarence Turner.
His son and about seven fire fighters headed out for Harman Sunday morning, but had no idea it would take so long to get there. A mile out of town the road was gone.
“We started down to help Harman, but there was a culvert washed out about a mile down the road and another one was washed out at Job,” Turner explained.
The obstacle forced fire fighters to turn their truck around and take an alternative route to get out of their community. The new route was considered the “long way” to get to Harman, but on this night it would certainly live up to that reputation.
“It was pretty bad that way and that’s why it took us so long to get there,” Turner said. “We had to roll rocks out of the road to the fire truck could get through.”
Firemen had a tough time just getting the road clear to get to their neighbors for help.
Harman was one of the most damaged places in the event, but there was also significant damage a few miles up the road in the Job community. Several water lines were washed out of the ground in Job and a small bridge was taken out by the water.