The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Front Page

Related Photos

  • Fellow firefighters and rescue workers carry the flag-draped body of Donald Adkins to an ambulance from Kanawha County at the Beckley-Raleigh County YMCA Youth Sports Complex Friday. F. Brian Ferguson

    firefighter
March 19, 2010

A somber day

Crews recover body of Kanawha County firefighter

By Courtney D. Clark Register-Herald Reporter

Search and rescue crews have recovered the body of a Kanawha County firefighter who was swept into floodwaters March 13 during a swift water rescue mission in Beaver.

After a seven-day search, the body of 32-year-old Donald Adkins was located just before 12:50 p.m. Friday, according to Reed Cook, deputy state fire marshal.

“One of the search crews discovered the body of the missing firefighter approximately 4 to 5 miles from where he went in last Saturday,” Cook said Friday.

“We had three crews out and pulled the teams together to try to expedite the recovery.”

Just a few short hours after locating Adkins, rescuers recovered his body and paid respects to the fallen firefighter at the YMCA Youth Sports Complex in Beckley.

The complex has served as a command post for numerous agencies participating in the search effort, and on the final day of the mission, rescuers stood somber and silent in Adkins’ honor.

Draped with an American flag, the body of the firefighter was transported through lines of individuals dedicated and determined to see his rescue.

“From the time that he was found, there wasn’t a single person that left here,” Cook added.

“The flag was signed by almost every person that participated in the search for Adkins. It’s a way of showing respect for the firefighter and his family.”

Though Adkins was a member of the Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department, he died rescuing citizens stranded by floodwaters in Raleigh County.

Gov. Joe Manchin issued a statement following his recovery.

“I want to commend the dedication of our first responders who always answer the call for help and who have been working day and night since severe flooding struck southern West Virginia last week,” Manchin said Friday.

“We lost one of those brave first responders when Donnie Adkins, from the Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department, was swept away by floodwaters.

“He lost his life while working to help others,” said Manchin. “My thoughts and prayers are with Donnie’s family and friends at this difficult time, and I know all West Virginians are thinking of them.”

Manchin says he would like to thank the firefighters, rescue workers, emergency personnel and volunteers from across the state and other states who joined in the search for Adkins.

Larry Rice, chief of the Beaver Volunteer Fire Department, says it is a sad day for the fire service and EMS field, but he is also thankful for the support received from at least seven West Virginia counties.

“I just want to thank everybody that’s been out here for everything they’ve done,” said Rice. “I appreciate all of these departments that have come in and helped us.

“It’s a great loss,” he continued. “I’m just glad we found him and brought him home.”

n n n

While teams began to tear down the camp set up at the YMCA complex, efforts to pick up the pieces from last weekend’s flooding continued.

“We really appreciate all the support for the fireman,” said Marty Agee, deputy director of the Raleigh County Emergency Operations Center. “Our heart goes out to his family.”

Agee says the massive flood debris pickup in Beaver will continue through part of today, and then the National Guard troops from the Charleston-based 130th Airlift Wing will move on to Sullivan.

“Quite a bit more debris came out today from the residents down there,” Agee said Friday.

“The Guard troops say they’ll be down in Mabscott next, but other than that, we’re just working with the communities trying to help them get situated.”

Client case workers with the Central WV Chapter of the American Red Cross are also heading out into flood-affected areas to meet individually with families who were affected by high water.

Residents in Raleigh, Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha and Mercer counties who lost critical belongings such as clothing, food, baby items and bedding will be contacted by caseworkers in the next several days to determine their recovery needs and to provide financial assistance to those who qualify.

Financial assistance will be available to help purchase these items, along with help with rent and deposits for those who are unable to live in their homes after last weekend’s destructive flooding.

Those wishing to help these families through the work of the Red Cross can make a secure, online donation at www.cwv-redcross.org, and designate their gift to the local flood relief effort.

— E-mail: cclark@registerherald.com

Text Only
Today's Front Page
  • Snow Plow NWS issues winter weather warnings, advisories

    Winter weather is here at last, bringing with it up to 8 inches of snow in some parts of southern West Virginia, according to the National Weather Service.

    February 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bon Jovi, Rod Stewart, Lionel Richie, Toby Keith music headliners for The Greenbrier Classic

    Bon Jovi, Rod Stewart with special guest Lionel Richie, and Toby Keith will headline the musical entertainment card for the 2012 Greenbrier Classic.
    Keith will perform on Wednesday, July 4 while Stewart and Richie are scheduled for Friday, July 6. Bon Jovi will wrap up the concert series on Saturday, July 7.
    For more information see Saturday’s edition of The Register-Herald.

    February 10, 2012

  • act Hundreds of students attend ACT career fair

    The Academy of Careers and Technology celebrated National Career Technical Education Month this week with a career fair ending today.
    Academy Principal Charles Pack explained that more than 600 Raleigh County students were scheduled to visit the facility between Feb. 6 and Feb. 10 to view interactive displays and learn about the educational opportunities available through career and technical training.

    February 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • Support grows for texting ban

    You can count House Judiciary Chairman Tim Miley among lawmakers who favor making texting while driving a primary offense.
    And his committee now holds the key to a Senate bill that would outlaw the practice, deemed universally dangerous by professional drivers, and by those who make and enforce the laws.

    February 10, 2012

  • Bill looks to revamp teacher evaluations

    West Virginia is considering expanding a teacher evaluation pilot program in order to seek a waiver from the constraints of a federal education law.
    The House Education Committee advanced a bill Thursday that would require all schools in the state to use the new teacher evaluation system by the 2013-2014 school year.
    The pilot program is in its first year and just 25 schools are participating, prompting questions whether it is too soon to take the program statewide.

    February 10, 2012

  • Pugh puts trust in trustees

    From the vantage point of his office across the street from the Mountain State University campus, Beckley Mayor Emmett Pugh said he has seen the school grow over the years.
    In the early 1990s, he said, it was a small two-year junior college and was nearly bankrupt.
    “Today they are a prime part of our economic development puzzle here in the city. They provide a lot of jobs and a very needed product — higher education — and I think they do a great job,” Pugh said.

    February 10, 2012

  • nursing Nursing program information presented

    Mountain State University Dean of Nursing Dr. Sheila Garland held another forum for nursing students Thursday, but no students attended.
    One nursing student’s mother, Sarita Beckett, who was also present for the previous forum, was in attendance.

    February 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • Committee holds key to texting bill

    You can count House Judiciary Chairman Tim Miley among lawmakers who favor making texting while driving a primary offense.
    And his committee now holds the key to a Senate bill that would outlaw the practice, deemed universally dangerous by professional drivers, and by those who make and enforce the laws.

    February 9, 2012

  • visit Getting technical assistance

    Kristean Hallett, a student at New River Community and Technical College, center, shows Jemeria Toney, left, and Meranda Todd, both seniors at Woodrow Wilson High School, how to use a infrared camera that shows cold spots in a house at the college’s Advanced Training Center in Ghent Wednesday. Fifty students from Liberty, Shady Spring and Woodrow Wilson high schools visited the college to learn about the school’s various training programs.

    February 9, 2012 1 Photo

  • OPEB bill passes without changes

    Republican fears that ingredients of “Obama care” are embedded in it failed Wednesday to sway the House of Delegates from altering a Senate bill retiring the Other Post-Employment Benefits liability.
    One by one, with a few Republicans voting against them, the House shot down amendments that would have eliminated a dozen points of SB469.

    February 9, 2012