Retired St. Louis City firefighter ankle is severed during EF-3 tornado
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Bill Atkins says his neighbors helped save his life on May 16th.
He tells First Alert 4, “We should all be ready to stand with our neighbor and hands and do what needs to be done.”
He is recovering at the hospital recalling the day an EF-3 tornado swept through parts of the city.
“It’s tear-jerking almost to see that my block, my community, step up,” says Atkins.
Atkins was outside with his wife when he noticed the wind started picking up.
As his wife went to the basement, he stopped to grab a flashlight.
He says a large wooden board came flying through the window of his home on Kensington Avenue.
“I hit the floor, and I’m being dragged across the floor. All I could do was think to cover my head,” says Atkins.
He discovered his ankle had been severed.
His wife’s calls to 911 weren’t going through, but help was on the way.
Neighbors on the street began checking on each other and made their way into his home.
Atkins tells First Alert 4, “People started coming into my house. I didn’t recognize anybody at first. But as seconds went on, started to realize who they are. They’re my neighbors.”
Neighbor, Ples Warren tells First Alert 4, “I seen the damage and I seen him on the floor, so the first instinct was, I didn’t panic. Just got in work mode to help.”
Warren and other neighbors applied a tourniquet and carried him to the front porch.
The retired St. Louis City Firefighter is recovering and facing the reality of life with a missing limb.
Atkins’s family says his recovery will be tough physically, emotionally, and financially.
He has a GoFundMe set up to help him through the recovery process.
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