John Sergeant, chief of emergency medical services at the Naperville Fire Department, was 12 years old when he first saw what a tornado could do. At the time, Sergeant had gone to help family members in the aftermath of the devastating tornado that killed 29 people and injured 350 others in Plainfield in 1990.
As a first responder, Sergeant said he was among the first to arrive on the scene after a tornado struck Naperville, Woodridge and Darien on Father’s Day in 2021, damaging hundreds of houses and trees. A Woodridge woman lost her unborn child when she was struck by a tree.
From gas leaks to downed power lines to confused victims, the chaos extends beyond deaths, injuries and lost property, Sergeant said.
