A tornado destroyed the only fire department in a Mississippi community



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The tornado hit Monroe County on Saturday night, CNN weather forecaster Gene Norman said. This was one of six tornadoes to hit the state this weekend. One person in Monroe was killed and 10 people were injured.

The massive storm system this weekend ravaged areas ranging from Texas to Mississippi. Seven people died because of bad weather, including one from Mississippi, four from Texas and two from Louisiana.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant declared the state of emergency Sunday in the weather-affected areas.

A photo of the destroyed fire hall shows scattered debris and trucks standing underneath.

Terry Tucker, Monroe's fire coordinator, said Sunday that he had been alerted to the fate of the local fire department around 11 pm. Saturday.

"We took a direct hit," a firefighter told Tucker on the radio. "The fire station (is) gone."

No firefighters were killed or injured, Tucker said.

Tucker said the Hamilton Department was the only one in the immediate vicinity of the small community of about 1,500 people. The other nearest station is 14 miles away, said Tucker.

"It's hard to understand, firefighters are gone," he said. "People will have a long recovery, the fire department needs to start from scratch, they have qualified staff, but they have to start all over again."

Tucker said the department was able to recover equipment and the trucks were still there, but damaged.

Saturday's tornado also destroyed several homes and a retail center with the fire department building.

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