UNION CITY, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Branch County Sheriff's Office released exclusive body camera footage to 7 News Detroit showing the extent of the desperate search and rescue efforts after a deadly EF-3 tornado tore through Union City on March 6, killing three and injuring 12.
More than 70 homes were destroyed in just 30 seconds.
Watch Faraz's full piece in the video player below:
"I lived in Michigan my whole life. I ain't never experienced nothing like that," said Charles Barfell, who is rebuilding a home on Tuttle Road.
"I watched a couple houses get ripped up," said Sgt. Joe Renshaw with the Branch County Sheriff's Office.
As one of the first Metro Detroit reporters on the scene, I saw the deadly aftermath firsthand. Three Rivers and Union City are the two places that were hit the hardest.
Related Story: At least 4 killed in storms across Southwest Michigan
"Two seconds later, the door blew open, hit me in the face, knocked me back. I looked up and I watched my roof," said Barfell. "I'll never forget that. And then looking up and just seeing things flying."
"It's the total devastation of everything that was there," said Branch County Sheriff Fred Blankenship.
On March 6, the day a deadly tornado ripped through Union City, right here near Tunnel Road, within minutes, first responders were racing into the storm. The exclusive footage shared by the Branch County Sheriff's Office revealed critical rescues, heartbreaking devastation, and the moment this community came together to save lives.
Branch County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Joe Renshaw was already headed to the area after receiving a severe weather warning.
Related Coverage: Recovery begins after deadly tornadoes in Union City
"My wife called me because the daughter is deathly afraid of tornadoes. So I was trying to say, 'hey, nope, I'm up in the area. There's no tornado. There's no tornado.' And it quickly changed. I've never seen a tornado of that size ever, and it took a second to process what was happening. I saw several buildings just go up into the air, and that's when it clicked. It's like, this is going to be serious. It's not just another storm," said Sgt. Renshaw.
"What's the one thing that you'll never forget about that day?" I asked.
"Coming up on the scene. I was on the phone with the undersheriff. You know that big American flag up on the north side of the lake? Everything beyond the flag's gone. said, how many do you need? And I said, we just get everybody we could," said Sgt. Renshaw.
Over 100 first responders rushed to the scene from 10 different agencies. Among them were also Branch County Sheriff Frederick Blankenship and his deputies, Nathalian Ruca and Sergeant Shane Norton.
"We saw Tuttle Park Drive right there. It's just gone," said Sgt. Shane Norton with the Branch County Sheriff's Office.
"We had property scattered all over," said Sheriff Blankenship. "Ended up returning cremains to certain individuals that we found in the area. Firearms that were spread over that area as well."
"Were you guys even able to identify houses?" I asked.
"I ended up grabbing a gentleman that wasn't injured and just saying, hey, walk with me. Hey, is this house supposed to be here? What house is here? Whose home?" said Sgt. Renshaw.
One of the major challenges: electricity.
"You didn't know what was hot and what was dead. Trying to work your way in and figure out if there was anybody injured," said Deputy Nathaniel Rurka with the Branch County Sheriff's Office.
Officials say the primary objective was figuring out who was missing.
"We were going house to house, and we're like, hey, someone's stuck in this house. Three people are trapped in that house. OK. Anybody in here? We'd get to that house, and we're like, no, it's actually the next house," said Sgt. Norton.
Every passing second was critical.
"In there, you could probably tell we had narrowed down that we only had a few subjects missing," said Sgt. Renshaw of the bodycam video.
"You see the red truck and black truck on their sides? There's supposed to be somebody in that house, and that house is completely gone," he said on bodycam.
Sgt. Renshaw said the woman's kids were waiting, and one of her sons said she wasn't answering her phone.
"At that point, that was my mission," said Sgt. Renshaw.
Sgt. Renshaw would later find the woman deceased.
"I guess the hardest part about the storm is ... we deal with people all the time. You can handle people. There's not much you're going to do to stop Mother Nature," said Sgt. Renshaw.
"We've been in this business a long time. You know, we've seen death. We've seen, you know, some destruction. But yeah, this is the worst thing I've ever seen," said Sheriff Blankenship.
Related Video: Drone video shows devastation of southwest Michigan tornadoes
"Just seeing the community coming together, what did that mean to you?" I asked.
"We had people showing up from up north and all over saying, ' How can I help?'" said Sheriff Blankenship.
Barfell said, "it was shocking, to be honest with you. I'd never seen anything like it."
Julie Johnson, who lives on Tuttle Park Drive, said she heard about 2,000 volunteers gave their time to help others.
"Do you think Tuttle Park Drive is going to be the same again?" I asked.
"No, never," she responded.
Rebuilding is underway, but the images from that day stand as a reminder of how quickly lives can change and that community and courage can keep them going.
