WHITELAND, Ind. — The EF3 tornado in Whiteland didn't just damage homes and businesses.
It also made a direct hit on public safety, tearing through the community's fire station, causing serious damage.
"It picked up all kinds of debris. It ripped the roof off the front side," said Whiteland Fire Chief Eric Funkhouser. "Really peeled it off."
Just five minutes before it hit and caused a portion of the station to collapse, fire crews inside the exact area that collapsed got sent on a call that may have saved their lives.
Their bunk rooms took the brunt of the storm.
"They had actually gone to bed that night and were in that room," Funkhouser said. "This is where all the firefighters beds are. Some of the bed frames have been damaged. All of the ceiling collapsed down on top of them. The roof collapsed down. The trusses, everything, fell into that room."
There's also water damage and mold, after heavy rain following the storm.
The bays where fire trucks are kept were the least damaged, but much of the firehouse is now open to the elements and unusable.
"This is our day room," Funkhouser pointed out. "This is where all the firefighters, paramedics and EMTs hang out throughout the day. It's got a new open concept."
For now, Whiteland fire crews are working out of the New Whiteland fire station a mile to the west.
It's a welcome way for first responders to keep protecting the public, but it is a tight fit with two full departments in one, so this is a temporary scenario.
At their own firehouse, insurance adjusters are determining if the building can even be saved. They're tallying the cost of the damage and deciding if it's best to make repairs or do a complete a rebuild.
"How much of this is savable or maybe knock down the living quarters and just start over," Funkhouser said. "That's up to insurance."
The tornado also exposed something else - the building's materials. The structure, built more than 20 years ago, is basically a metal pole barn.
No basement.
No concrete.
No bricks.
Added protection from storms with stronger materials could factor into the fixes here.
"Ultimately, we have to get out the door and help the community," Funkhouser said. "So this kind of brings to light a whole other thing for us to be looking at as we're designing stations or building stations in the future is just making sure that you're thinking about that. Back then, it probably wasn't at the forefront of our minds. You know, we're used to going out and helping people and this time it comes through and hits our station."
The entire process of recovery for the fire department will likely take many months.
Meanwhile, firefighters are still serving the citizens of Whiteland -- for now, just from a different station.