Algonquin public works lends helping hand to Coal City tornado victims

Fallen trees. Debris piled high on the side of the road. Homes split in half or sliding off the foundation.

The images Vince Kilcullen carries with him from the first day he arrived in Coal City last month continue to astound him.

"It was a huge mess," he said, flipping through photos he took of the damage from a tornado that passed through the town June 22. "We had to get down there, get everything organized, clean things up."

Kilcullen, streets division director for Algonquin, and six of his employees responded to the disaster three days after the storm, bringing with them supplies and equipment to assist with cleanup.

"We try to get the debris removal process started," Kilcullen said. "That's what we're trained to do."

Coal City is one of about 250 towns involved with the Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network, an organization that shares resources between public works entities throughout the state. Kilcullen sits on the board of directors and is a dispatcher for the network.

For about a week and a half, Kilcullen would leave his home in Kirkland in DeKalb County at 4:30 a.m. and drive nearly 80 miles to Coal City. He would meet with other disaster relief leaders to come up with a plan of action, direct maintenance workers to their designated areas and work on site throughout the day.

It was after 8 p.m. by the time he got home each night. The last few days, he stayed overnight at a nearby hotel, he said.

"They were long days, but that's how it ends up going in those situations, especially when you're in charge," Kilcullen said. "It can be overwhelming to an extent."

But it was nothing he couldn't handle, he said. As a volunteer firefighter at the Monroe Township Fire Protection District, he's used to taking charge during a disaster. With his job in Algonquin, he has gone through emergency and disaster training, he said, and he works closely with the police and fire departments.

Just this past April, Kilcullen responded to Fairdale to assist with tornado relief, an experience that he said helped him manage the situation in Coal City.

"It's chaotic, but you just have to take a step back," Kilcullen said. "I stay pretty calm, and that's someone you need in a disaster."

The first few days of storm cleanup are always the hardest, he said. When Kilcullen and his team first arrived at the disaster relief headquarters in Coal City, nearly 100 people were trying to fit into one small building, he said. Trucks and equipment were blocking the roads.

"It was really unorganized," said Darrick Hyde, an Algonquin maintenance worker who spent four days in Coal City with Kilcullen.

Hyde went home that day feeling overwhelmed, he said. When he returned a few days later, Kilcullen had stepped in, Hyde said. Workers were assigned to designated meeting places, and a new system had been put in place.

"It was a lot easier to go out and get work done," Hyde said. "(Kilcullen) is very good at taking charge and delegating the work."

Throughout the week, Kilcullen said, he was able to work with and learn from other public works departments, which became an invaluable experience for him.

For Hyde, it was the memory of residents thanking him that he'll remember most.

"You don't see that every day where a tornado went through and wiped out a good half of the town," Hyde said. "It makes you feel good being able to go down and help out."

Many residents of Coal City were still in shock when Kilcullen left for good July 2. Some were left without a home, and some wondered how they could afford to repair the damage, he said.

But with the help of volunteers and teams that responded to the disaster, much of the debris had been cleaned up, and the town was starting to be piece itself back together, Kilcullen said.

"It's just one of the things I enjoy doing," he said. "When things get crazy, I can wrap it all up and get it back to normal."