PHIL HOLMES/Sun-Gazette Logs and other debris, including a destroyed truck, clog Little Trout Run, still raging when this photo was taken Saturday afternoon. In the background is the Trout Run firehouse, which has been partially condemned.

TROUT RUN — The Trout Run firehouse has served as one the centers of activity for this small community for decades, but on Friday, when Tropical Storm Debby pounded the region with unrelenting rain, the four-bay fire station on Route 14 took a direct hit, resulting in part of the building being condemned, according to Fire Chief Nick Smith.

It was just before noon when the force of water from the now-torrential Little Trout Run suddenly took out “a 10×20-foot slab of concrete, one foot thick, and ate it up, sucked it right under the bridge,” Smith said, referring to a section of payment outside the firehouse.

Close to 20 evacuees were inside the firehouse — getting help from volunteers offering blankets and food – when one of dozens of logs “racing” down the run in the center of the village struck the firehouse with such force that it penetrated the two-story building, Smith said. He realized right away that the town’s only emergency shelter was going to have to be evacuated.

“We moved everyone safely to the Hepburn (Volunteer Fire Department) station by fire trucks or with personal vehicles” Smith said.

Over a very short period of time, the force of the powerful water took out the north wall of the fire station.

“A log actually hit what was our boiler room,” he said.

Little Trout Run became jammed and filled with logs, propane tanks, even a truck that had been pulled into the water after an embankment gave way, Smith, a 28-year veteran of the fire company explained. No one was in the truck when it fell into the water, he said.

“I can’t even begin to describe the noise. It felt like a bomb going off. Every time a log went underneath the bridge, it was boom, boom, boom…like sitting on an M-80. At the same time, while this was going on, I had live propane tanks blowing off. I had no way to get to them,” Smith said.

“All my oil tanks and boilers were suddenly gone,” Smith, reliving the scene, said during an interview outside the station late Saturday afternoon. “I had an engineer here this morning, and half the building has been condemned” because the fire station’s structural integrity has been compromised.

Shortly before 4 p.m. Friday., part of the Route 14 bridge in the center of the village collapsed. Debby also took out the Truman Street bridge, leaving the community with a single remaining bridge on Lycoming Creek Road.

“Two of my bays, the social hall, our meeting room, that’s all done now, no more. We’re using generators until we get power back” Smith said.

However, the engineer determined it was safe for the fire department to use the station’s two remaining bays to serve meals and drinks to the public.

The tropical storm cut cellphone service, water and electricity to the community. However, cell service was restored by the middle of Saturday afternoon, and Smith said he hoped that electricity would be back by late Sunday night if not sooner. In the meantime, anyone who needs water, food or to use a restroom can go to the firehouse during the day, Smith said. Portable toilets have been set up outside the station, and fresh water is also available, he said..

Despite the heavy damage the fire company sustained, volunteer firefighters were still handling emergency calls, including a reported crash about 8:20 p.m. Saturday. “Right now, everyone is being pushed to the limit,” Smith said, referring to the 20 active volunteers that are in the fire company.

All fire apparatus are stationed outside at two different locations so firefighters can respond to emergencies north and south of the community.

Sheriff deputies are working rotating shifts, helping residents and also providing security.

Smith said, “We have had a great response and support from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency as well as all local elected officials.”

Smith said he believes the firehouse, built in the 1940s, will eventually be torn down. He noted that the post office here has been shut down because of flooding. “All the mail will be going to the Reach Road Post Office so I’m told. The (Lewis) township building is also closed. It has four feet of mud in it,” he said.

Lycoming County Sheriff Mark Lusk met with community and fire department leaders at the firehouse on Saturday afternoon.

“While the community has been affected, it has not been destroyed. Its spirit has not been destroyed. There is a tremendous amount of support on hand here to help folks get back on their feet,” he told a reporter shortly after the meeting.

“Everyone comes together during these flooding events,” said Lusk, who has been involved in helping people during several past floods in the county, including the 1996 Flood that claimed six lives.

As of Saturday night, it was unknown how many residents here or in the county lost their homes.

“We were lucky this time,” Trout Run resident Bobbie Whelchel said, speaking with a reporter on Trout Run Mountain Road. Although she had no electricity and no plumbing, her home on Truman Street was spared damage. In 1996, she was living on Cottage Avenue, next to Lycoming Creek, in Old Lycoming Township. “We lost everything, the house, everything, in that flood,” she said.