The hours and days after a tornado struck Prattville on Feb. 17 made me proud to call the Fountain City my transplanted hometown. Seeing friends and strangers alike unite in the aftermath also made me proud, and as the recovery continues there is a strong spirit of community and vision for the future that is reassuring even in the shadow of such a devastating natural disaster. There are many stories of how God blessed this community and specific individuals by not taking lives even amidst a swath of damage a dozen homes wide through Overlook and other neighborhoods, but among the most miraculous is the story of a family driving in a silver Grand Am on Shelia Boulevard as the tornado struck. Their car was tossed and beaten by debris, and all the windows were blown out causing only minor injuries to the mother, father and small child. Just moments before that family turned on Shelia Boulevard, and as the rains intensified, a young Prattville resident who is a husband and father and active in his community, left from visiting friends on Jenny Drive going to his house across the neighborhood on Sweet Ridge Road. His two minute drive in heavy rain ended in his driveway with him stepping out of his vehicle to see the tornado approaching from behind the Church of the Living Waters. He rushed inside and he and his family took shelter, fearing the tornado was on a collision course with his house. At that same time, that silver Grand Am was on Shelia Boulevard just past Tara Drive heading toward U.S. 31 when they drove straight into the twister. Within seconds it was over, and on Sweet Ridge Road, John Burton stepped outside and surveyed the damage. He saw rooftops missing on Shelia Boulevard, and realizing his home had been spared, he rushed out to find Shelia Boulevard littered with debris and power lines, homes destroyed and people emerging stunned. He also found that family in the Grand Am, and he helped pull them
from their car and to the open refuge of a family who took them into their badly damaged home until efforts could be organized to get them medical attention. Thankfully, their injuries seemed minor. And even minor, their injuries were the most severe we encountered on Shelia Boulevard as a handful of neighbors from streets not as badly affected began going door to door checking on residents, helping them emerge from their damaged homes, turning off broken natural gas and water pipes, and clearing debris for emergency responders. John Burton is the Prattville resident who left his home immediately after the tornado and rushed into uncertain risks to help people in need. As best as I can determine, he was probably the first responder onto Shelia Boulevard and helped pull that family from their demolished Grand Am. There are lots of individual stories about people just like John Burton who responded out of a concern for others, but I wanted to single out John Burton for his selfless attitude, for his commitment to serving in Christ’s example, and for his contributions to his fellow man in a time of such great need.
Tony Harris, Jenny Drive.
This story can be found on the Tornado Stories page. Other stories as they come up will be posted on that page. You can also add your story as a comment on that page.
