photo by: Joselyn King

Triadelphia Volunteer Fire Department Chief David Patterson, left, tells West Virginia Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, about the devastation at his firehouse from the June 14 flood the following day at the Ohio County Emergency Operations Center.

WHEELING — The rain and flooding are gone for now, and the members of the Triadelphia Volunteer Fire Department are starting to see sunshine.

Of course those rays of sunlight are coming through the holes in the walls of their fire station.

During the June 14 flooding, water burst through the back wall of the station. As a result, the department lost its rescue truck, brush truck and ambulance. The status of the building is still being determined, according to Fire Chief Dave Patterson.

Calls have continued to come in to the Triadelphia Fire Department, and members still are responding when help is needed, he continued.

Surrounding volunteer fire departments and the Ohio County Emergency Medical Services have been providing mutual aid when needed, and Brooke County now has donated an ambulance to the Triadelphia VFD. Patterson said it will be in service as soon required state inspections are complete.

Other vehicles also were made available to the department, he continued.

The Imperial Volunteer Fire Department in Imperial, Pennsylvania contributed a rescue truck. Shults Ford at The Highlands Wheeling donated a pickup truck, while Wheeling Volkswagen-Subaru at The Highlands provided three side-by-side vehicles.

The fire department’s larger ladder truck and two engines were not affected during the flooding. In addition, a second building that houses training areas, offices and a recreational room did not see any water.

“We are still available for calls,” Patterson said. “The building is holding up for now. We see the sun, but it’s beating through the holes in the walls.

“We don’t have an ambulance. We will have an ambulance.”

He noted the department is still waiting on insurance to see what is going to happen with its damaged fire station building.

“We’re still working on that,” Patterson said. “Everyday we are finding more stuff damaged or missing.

“We are just now concentrating on the fire house. But we had to respond to our neighbors first. I had to get my people taken care of.”

Patterson acknowledged that for about two weeks after the flood he was only getting about three hours of sleep each day. He has now returned to his day job as a coal miner, but he is living in his camper now parked in the fire department’s parking lot.

While his home in the Springer Addition near the station was unaffected by the flooding, a bridge across the creek was washed away.

“I’m afraid to go home. If the rain comes again, I can’t get back over to the station.,” he explained. “There are six homes there, and two of the families have small children.

“I live behind the firehouse. I can see my house, and the house is fine.”

Patterson said he has lived in Triadelphia throughout his life, and “I have never seen anything like this.

“I have been on the fire department for 38 years, and this is among the most devastating things I’ve ever seen,” he added. “The community I grew up in is totally gone – Midway Street and Springer Addition.

“But there has been an influx of people coming and working together for the community. It has been amazing to see it. I thank everybody who has helped us. It means everything.”