On Kemp Road, the large front doors on fire Station 63 were bent and nearly blown off and fire trucks in the large building were damaged by debris blown in from the wind.
EF-3 tornado confirmed in Montgomery County, Beavercreek, Celina
“Looking at the damage, you’d think more were injured or died, but as far as we know, there hasn’t been any deaths in Beavercreek related to this event,” said City Manager Pete Landrum.
Traffic was shut down on North Fairfield at Kemp Road and dozens of stores in the area were closed because of damages or were without power.
Landrum said the tornado barely missed his own home. He said city officials worked through the day with Vectren to shut off gas lines that ruptured or were otherwise compromised. The potentially dangerous hazard delayed getting accurate numbers on homes and businesses damaged and destroyed.
Wright State Assistant Women’s soccer coach Travis Sobers’ home at the corner of Kemp Road and Rustic View had a number of large trees down on top of it and vehicles.
He and his family said they experienced the storm in their basement and felt their ears pop from the pressure.
This afternoon some of his players came to help pick up the mess.
Greene County commissioners met for a special session Tuesday morning and declared a state of emergency.
The declaration will enable the county to request resources from the state to help in the clean-up.
The tornado damaged water facilities in Dayton, which could impact water service in neighboring Greene County.
Greene County Administrator Brandon Huddleson said the county gets some of its water from Montgomery County through the city of Dayton.
“We’re working diligently now to maintain all the water capacity we can for our customers we’re talking to our partners about emergency interconnects to try to keep everybody in service,” Huddleson said. “During a natural disaster you want to be able to count on your water and sewer like you do every other day.”
Huddleson said county crews will be working overtime through the week and weekend to assess damages and get streets cleared of debris.
Residents impacted by the storm showed up around 7 a.m. Tuesday at Barney’s True Value hardware store on Dayton Xenia Road, but the store couldn’t open until power was restored after 7:30 a.m.
Owner Dave Barney said people were buying generators, tarps, water, chainsaws and several other items to deal with the storm’s aftermath.
Barney said he quickly ran low on many products and put in an order for more supplies from their warehouse in Beavercreek.
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“I hope it’s just property damage and everybody is OK,” Barney said. “That’s the biggest concern I have. If there’s some way we can help, by God we’re here to do it. Hopefully we’ll all bounce back from this in a short period of time but I hear it’s quite a mess so I know it’s going to take days if not weeks to clean up the mess all the way across Dayton down to where we are right here.”
Rural King on Progress Drive in Xenia also ordered more power tools and other items. The store offered to give away up to two cases of water to customers.
“There’s no reason for me to sell water today when people are in need,” Rural King Manager Jeremy Safranic said.
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