LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — There have been countless stories of selflessness and heroism after Friday's tornado. Among all that hard work, it's important to stop and recognize them.
In this case, that wasn't hard to spot— as the source of that selflessness was wearing Little Rock Fire Department badge.
"I wouldn't trade you guys for anything," LRFD Chief Delphone Hubbard said. "Good, bad, or indifferent, we're still family, and I'm super, super proud of them."
When the storm hit West Little Rock on Friday afternoon, many sprang into action— including the crew at LRFD Station Nine.
"At 2:25, we are walking out of an office to a very heavily damaged fire station," LRFD Captain Ben Hammond said.
Hammond is the Shift Captain of Truck Nine, based at Station Nine. Like many, he kept an eye on the skies on Friday, which was almost a bad decision.
"What we were doing was looking at, you know, the storm off in the distance, really," he said.
That storm wasn't off in the distance— it was bearing down on them, so they hid.
"Just in time for the ceiling above us to start coming apart and debris to fly through our fire station," Hammond explained.
When the storm passed, they walked out to chaos.
Their trucks were mangled, walls collapsed, but most paramount of all, people were in need.
"Probably under a minute, we decided, we've gotta go to work," he said. "Let's go figure out what we've got to do to help."
Chief Hubbard echoed that sentiment during Monday's Little Rock Board meeting.
"No second thoughts, no hesitation on anyone's part," Hubbard said. "They go right to work, serving the community."
It's a choice that was not easy to make amidst all the destruction. Their station is gone, along with many of their personal vehicles.
Though Hammond said he'd make the same decision again in a heartbeat.
"Take this feeling of unity, take this feeling of help, take this feeling of support," Hammond said. "Instead of making it a situation of when the need arises, we can be this way. Just be this way."