WASHINGTON CO, Ky. (LEX 18) — In the aftermath of the devastating E-F two tornado that struck Washington County on Friday, first responders from neighboring counties pitched in to help anyway they can. Those included Sheriff Taylor Bottom and Danville Fire Marshall Scott Lawson.
"This scene is obviously unsafe. It's kind of like one of those from a movie scene, you know?" Bottom said.
The tornado had completely destroyed a farmhouse, but another emergency was developing: a toddler was missing.
"My heart immediately sank," Bottom said. "Because I have an almost three year old, and that's the first thing that popped in my mind."
"I prayed, and I said, 'Lord, please, let us find this baby," he added. "'Let us find this baby safe. And whatever it costs me, let us find this baby.'"
Bottom and Lawson immediately sprang into action, following the path of destruction to the bottom of the valley, several hundred feet away from where the house once stood.
"That time, we hear the most faint sound, but it was so loud that we knew we didn't say it," Bottom said. "But we looked at each other, and Scott said, 'Bottoms, Bottoms,' and we knew that she was alive."
The two first responders found the little girl under a branch, seemingly protected by the debris.
"We got a good quiet mumble," Lawson said. "Then we just hollered her name, told her to keep talking to us."
Though the toddler was in shock, the first responders knew they had to act quickly to get her to safety.
"You know, every second counts at that point," Bottom said.
The little girl was rushed to the hospital, where she is now reported to be in stable condition. Her family credits the quick actions of the first responders for saving her life.
But for Bottom and Lawson, they say they were just doing their jobs.
"We don't do this job for for recognition, or for the 'Atta boys' or anything like that. If we did, you know we're in the wrong field of work," Bottom said.
