Jul 03, 2022 12:02 AM

Courage in the Face of Tragedy

Posted Jul 03, 2022 12:02 AM
Citizens and emergency responders never stopped searching for a man trapped in a grain bin in Yarmouth. (Photo submitted by Barbara Kerr)
Citizens and emergency responders never stopped searching for a man trapped in a grain bin in Yarmouth. (Photo submitted by Barbara Kerr)

By William Smith
Community Editor

During the 30-hour search for Rickey Kammerer on June 21 and June 22, Yarmouth Fire Chief John Crouch and Burlington/Yarmouth firefighter Luke Griffis (Crouch’s son-in-law) never left the scene.

Crouch recalls getting about a half-an-hour of sleep in the back of an ambulance. Griffis barely got any more.

Neither was going to stop searching the wreckage of the grain silo collapse at the Agri-Way Grain Elevator in Yarmouth — not until they found Rickey.

“We were going into this with the mindset that we weren’t going to stop until we found him, or until the scene became too unstable to be safe,” Griffis said.

It was a rescue scene unlike any the two veteran firefighters had encountered before. In fact, it was unlike anything any of the firefighters had seen. 

The urban search and rescue team of Cedar Rapids, Iowa Task Force 1, was on the scene within an hour of being requested. Griffis said it was a record-breaking response time for the team.

“It usually takes 2 or 3 hours. You have to request them through the emergency management agency after you’ve exhausted all your resources, and they have to go through the governor,” Griffis said.

A deliberate search

Due to the precarious nature of the scene  — with one collapsed silo threatening to take down the others —  Iowa Task Force 1 sought guidance from another rescue team in Wisconsin that had dealt with a similar situation. All they could offer was encouragement.

“They (the task force team out of Wisconsin) said to be careful, that it was a no-win situation,” Griffis said.

Iowa Task Force 1 had never dealt with anything like this accident before, and they specialize in those kinds of rescue operations. Task force members almost always like to stabilize the scene before rescue workers are put at risk, but there was no way to stabilize the tons of concrete and metal.

The wreckage shifted a total of 8 inches during the search effort, closely monitored by a surveying device from the Des Moines County Secondary Roads department and the task force itself. 

“We had people like Travis Sours and multiple other people just watching the facility for safety issues,” Crouch said. 

Within an hour of the accident, fire departments around the area had responded to the scene or took over fire duties for other departments so they could assist as well. 

Griffis estimates about 80 emergency personnel were there. He counts 35 responding agencies, including excavation companies.

But there was no way to count everybody. Local construction companies showed up, ready to lend their equipment. 

Crews worked through the night on the search effort. (Photo submitted by Barbara Kerr)
Crews worked through the night on the search effort. (Photo submitted by Barbara Kerr)

Volunteers came with armloads of food and bottled water — so much that some of the firefighter’s spouses and families started a makeshift auxiliary group for the scene just to manage it all. Local stores donated supplies as well. 

“There were just pallets and pallets of water and drinks, four or five tables full of food, and it was stacked high. There were three cattle troughs they put bottled water and ice in,” Griffis said.

Crouch had no idea the donations had come in so quickly. 

He was making plans to have food purchased at a grocery store until he looked inside the fire department. Then he had to kindly ask volunteers to stop bringing supplies.

“It was like, ‘jeepers!’ We sent water home with every fire department,” Crouch said.

Griffis said anything they needed arrived nearly as soon as Des Moines County Emergency Management Coordinator Gina Hardin called for it. 

He credited her as the best emergency management coordinator in the state and said she was vital to the effort.

“Gina was able to get us anything. The joke is, if you need a purple elephant, Gina will get it to you,” Griffis said.

The work was slow and deliberate, and vibrations of vehicles and machinery would cause the wreckage to shift. 

Crouch said most of the debris was cleared using hand tools that cut through rebar and concrete. 

Louisa County Millwright used a crane and workers to attach cables to the top of a grain storage bin, eventually tipping it over so rescuers could access the scene.

The heat index reached 104 degrees that day (June 21), and firefighters rotated in 10-minute shifts. Full turnout gear was discouraged.

“Every department that showed up, we had them take their thermal layers out to help reduce the heat,” Griffis said. “Our only requirement was long pants, steel toes, and eye protection.” 

Search dogs found several points of interest during the search, and crews worked outside the scene into the interior, ensuring escape routes if anything were to collapse.

Later that night, as tower lights were put up and the search continued, a thunderstorm with possible 60 mph winds approached. 

“The storm dissipated,” Griffis said. “We barely had to stop.” 

The mysterious dog

About a week prior to the accident, a yellow Labrador retriever showed up in town. Neither Crouch nor Griffis had ever seen the pooch before.

Neither of them gave it much thought until the dog showed up again in the wake of the accident. Kammerer’s family was on site for the entire 30-hour operation, spending hours in a grassy area just outside the caution tape.

The dog approached them, then lay beside them, as if he knew he was needed.

“That dog laid with the family and laid with the daughter for hours at a time,” Griffis said.

The dog became kind of a mascot for the rescuers and for Kammerer’s family. Griffis said he was remarkably well trained — shaking hands-on command — and could seemingly sense when someone was troubled. That included the firefighters, who found solace in petting the pooch.

“Animals fix everything,” Griffis said.

Crouch and Griffis figured the dog must have been dumped, and the firefighters weren’t about to leave him behind. After checking the dog for a microchip to make sure the owner couldn’t be found, he was adopted by the Danville fire chief.

Yarmouth Community Methodist Church sits in the shadow of the Agri-way grain storage facility, the site of a tragic accident that claimed the life of Rickey Ryan Kammerer. (Photo courtesy of Keith Turrill)
Yarmouth Community Methodist Church sits in the shadow of the Agri-way grain storage facility, the site of a tragic accident that claimed the life of Rickey Ryan Kammerer. (Photo courtesy of Keith Turrill)

Expressing gratitude

The firefighters are still recovering from the operation, especially mentally. 

Crouch said he hasn’t had time to process the events, but he will. Counseling sessions were made available during critical debriefings.

As difficult as that 30 hours were, Crouch and Griffis said it would have been much harder without the full-throated support of their fellow firefighters and the community.

Some of the construction companies lost equipment, but they didn’t complain. They didn’t ask for money. They told Crouch that they would be available anytime they were needed.

It’s an attitude the entire town carried. The entire county. 

Fire departments from Illinois and across Iowa offered their support. U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks called to offer anything that was needed. 

“It wasn’t just southeast Iowa. It was a statewide response,” Griffis said.

Crouch wants to thank everyone, including a few specific people.

“I would just like to thank Gina Hardin, Hanna Siegworth, and my daughter Jamie,” Crouch said.

Griffis has pages of notes he went through to write the report for the accident, and in those notes are the names of all the responding agencies and volunteers. They have all earned the gratitude of a community.

They are Yarmouth Fire, Mediapolis Fire, Mediapolis Community Ambulance, Danville Fire, Burlington Tech Rescue, ALS Ambulance, West Burlington Fire, Mount Union Fire, Olds Fire, Wapello Fire, Wapello Ambulance, Denmark Fire, Des Moines County CERT, Cedar Rapids Iowa Task Force 1, Des Moines County Sheriff, Wayland Fire, Winfield Fire, Mount Pleasant Fire, New London Fire, Crawfordsville Fire, Washington Fire, Ainsworth Fire, Morning Sun Fire, Oakville Fire, Brewer Wrecking Service, Newberry Towing, Des Moines County Emergency Management, DESCOM, Louisa County Millwright, Fye Excavating, Four Seasons Excavating, Des Moines County Secondary Roads MABAS No. 62, New London Utilities, and the National Weather Service.

Obituary for Rickey Ryan Kammerer

Rickey Ryan Kammerer
Rickey Ryan Kammerer

Rickey Ryan Kammerer, 30, passed away June 21, 2022, in Yarmouth. A Celebration of Life will start at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 9, at 301 South Maple Lot 9, Winfield. The Snyder & Hollenbaugh Funeral and Cremation Services of Morning Sun is caring for the family. A memorial has been established at the funeral home in memory of Rickey. Donations may also be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/rickey-kammerer-memorial-fund. Online condolences may be left at www.sandhfuneralservice.com.

He was born Dec. 16, 1991, in Muscatine, to Adam Kammerer and Tammy Estabrook Spencer.

Rickey married the love of his life, Megga Brown Kammerer, on Oct. 31, 2020, in Winfield. Rickey was a devoted father to his daughter, Remedy LouAnn Jo Kammerer.

Rickey got his GED in 2013. He worked several jobs to support his wife and daughter. Rickey was a devoted husband and father. Rickey was loved by many and he impacted the lives of those he met.

Rickey loved to spend time with family and friends, camping, fishing, smoking, and loving life. Rickey was a huge St. Louis Cardinals and Oregon Ducks fan. He never missed a game. Rickey collected Coca Cola memorabilia.

Rickey is survived by his wife, Megga Kammerer (Winfield); his daughter, Remedy Kammerer (Winfield); his dad, Tom Jones (Morning Sun); his mom, Tammy Spencer (Morning Sun); bonus parents, Russ and Karol Adamson (Mediapolis); his father-in-law, Jerry Brown (Winfield); his brothers, Travis Jones (Morning Sun), Andrew Estabrook (Ottumwa), Ryan Adamson (Indianola), Riley Kammerer (Morning Sun), Leroy Kammerer (Morning Sun) and Justin; his sisters, Tara Jones (Connor Stratton) (Winfield), Sonya Jones (Morning Sun), Cassie Adamson (Zach Waddell) (Indianola), Jessi Lanfranco (Mt. Pleasant) and Cheyenne Kammerer (Morning Sun); his brother and sister-in-law, Michael and Heather Cupps (Winfield); his grandmother, Debra Watson (Mama) (Mt. Pleasant); grandparents, Gerald (Papi) and Dianne Kammerer (Morning Sun); grandparents, Jim and Judy Strasser (Morning Sun); his fur baby son, Hunter James; his lifelong buddy; special friends, Brendan Stillwell and Carly Hodges (Winfield), Jessica Hoots and Bugg (Burlington), Jontue Wonders (Ft. Dodge), Jessica and Stephen Robertson (Morning Sun), Daryl Bryant (Morning Sun) and Nathan Geise and family; several nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and many other family and friends.

Rickey was proceeded in death by his son, Bayne Ryan Kammerer; his brother, Christopher; his mother-in-law, Jackie Cupps; grandfather, Roger Estabrook; grandfather, Richard Jones; great-aunt and -uncle, Dretha and Wade Watson; niece, Kiley Bugg-Broadway; and childhood friend, Travis Stewart.