Vernon Sends Personnel, Equipment To Monson to Help with Tornado Relief

Vernon sent emergency crews to Monson, Mass. early this evening to assist with the aftermath of a powerful tornado that touched down in the border town. 

When he called in a report from the scene to the local headquarters, Assistant Fire Chief Steve Eppler said sections of Monson were "really mangled."

According to the National Weather Service, local law enforcement reported that a tornado touched down in Westfield, Mass.

An amateur radio operator reported seeing a tornado in the Springfield area. The tornado was moving along the Massachusetts-Connecticut border, and those living along that corridor had been warned to take precaution.

One then hit Monson, just north of Stafford, just after the evening rush. 

Mayor Jason McCoy said the Tolland County Mutual Aid system was activated at about 6 p.m. 

"It's scary,'' McCoy said. "I can't believe a tornado hit Springfield, Mass.  It's just too much.''

McCoy said the reports he was getting indicated a level of "hysteria" in Monson.

Fire Chief William Call said that a crew of about 20 were dispatched first to a staging area in Stafford and then to Monson itself. The town sits north of Stafford, accessed by winding, country roads. 

"We are getting reports of a lot of collapsed houses,'' Call said. "We sent in two of our ATVs because it was the only way to get around in some places.''

The two all-terrain vehicles were called in after Vernon already had sent in three heavier vehicles, including an ambulance, call said. 

Vernon was included in the National Weather Service Tornado Watch the entire evening. Both McCoy and Call said Vernon still had plenty of coverage if something had happened A powerful thunderstorm ripped through the town at about 8:40 p.m.

"We had plenty of stuff still here,'' Call said. 

"We had some calls about our coverage, but we assured everyone who called that we were well-protected heret,'' McCoy said. "Just because a town is separated from us by a state border does not mean we cannot consider it a neighbor in need.''