A longtime firefighter from Kentucky died in a powerful storm while protecting his danger wife

London, Ky. – Kentucky firefighter, Leslie Leatherman, answered the call for help, rushing on danger as he has done firmly for decades, when a Tornado at the end of the evening Browse his community in the foothills of the Appalachians. It was his last act of altruism, and the person he protected in the middle of chaos was his wife.

Leatherman was one of 19 people killed in Kentucky when the storm struck on Friday evening early Saturday, while people on the way woke up to a terrifying scene. Most of the victims were from Laurel County, southeast of Kentucky, where Leatherman was a long-standing member of a volunteer fire service.

Leatherman, 57, died by protecting his wife, Michelle, of the flying debris, said Terry Wattenbarger, deputy head of the County Fire Service of Laurel, where Leatherman was major. He was found at the top of his wife, said Wattenbarger. Michelle Leatherman survived and was in critical condition on Tuesday at Kentucky Chandler University hospital in Lexington, a spokesman said.

Wattenbarger said he thought it happened just after the tornado had Rugi, when the winds were still strong enough to launch debris in the air. They were found in a field about 100 meters (91 meters) from their destroyed house.

“She was crying,” Wattenbarger said in an interview on Tuesday. “I sure he went … in the first person he thought he could help. It's just her.”

The tornado that struck the counties of Pulaski and Laurel sculpted a path of more than 55 miles (88 kilometers), according to the National Weather Service in Jackson, Kentucky. At its peak, the tornado reached approximately one mile (1.6 kilometers) wide and had winds up to 170 MPH (274 km / h).

The governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear paid tribute to Leatherman for his decades of public service while asking people to pray for families of all those who died in the storm. The Democratic Governor said Leatherman “died by doing what the first stakeholders do every day – risking his own life for our security.”

As the storm approaches, Leatherman communicated that he was ready to help, Wattenbarger said. When a fire alarm sounded in his neighborhood, Leatherman said he was responding. Shortly after, another firefighter confirmed that the tornado was on the ground there and caused massive damage.

Emergency agents found the Leathermans at the start of the response but did not recognize them in black darkness, officials said. Leatherman was dead and they tended to Michelle Leatherman. The location of Leslie Leatherman was recorded for subsequent identification, and the rescuers continued to help other victims.

Shortly after, the authorities began to seek Leatherman after failing to answer radio calls. Emergency workers returned to find your body and do heartbreaking identification.

It was typical for Leatherman to rush into danger to protect others, said Wattenbarger, who formed a lasting friendship with Leatherman when they were in high school together.

“All his life, he was a dedicated official,” said the deputy chief. “He had a huge heart. He loved his family more than anything … and really enjoyed life and was just a very good person.”

Leatherman, known with tenderness under the name of LES, was a constant figure in emergency services for the region. He started as an emergency medical technician in Laurel county, then became an emergency distributor, first for the authorities of Laurel County, then for the police of the state of Kentucky, said Wattenbarger.

More recently, he was deputy director of the 911 County Center of Whitley Voisin.

“He was a very sincere, very hard man, a very devoted man,” said Pat Jr., a judge-judge of the county of Whitley, “someone who the youngest embarking on emergency services in this region looked at and looked for advice. He was a great mentor for many of them. We will certainly miss him.”

Leatherman was also a fire rescue instructor. Brandon Waters, a member of the London fire service and instructor colleague, said Leatherman's death would be felt throughout the region.

“He was a good person,” said Wagers. “He has always had something to say.”

A constant was almost 39 years of Leatherman service as a firefighter. Leatherman “has put blood and the work of his life in his life to be the best person and the best respondent he could be,” said Wattenbarger.

His death sent shock waves in the united ranks of their fire service.

“We survive,” said Wattenbarger. “It's the only way to describe it. People say” Are you all good? “No, we are not.