Justin Pyle was about to begin his shift at the FedEx facility in Portage when a tornado struck the facility May 7. He feels management’s quick decision likely saved his life as well as others.
By Bruce Rolfe
Climax resident Justin Pyle, who is closing in on his third year working at the FedEx facility on Portage Road, was looking forward to starting a new position in a different part of the huge facility May 7.
It turned out to be a memorable day for the 2018 Climax-Scotts High School graduate, but not in the way he was expecting.
Pyle was about to begin his shift when a tornado ripped through the facility, causing massive destruction, anxiety, and for a few moments, a feeling of whether he would get out alive.
Pyle, who started working for FedEx when the new building located at 6701 Portage Road opened in 2021, said about 15 minutes before his shift, which was delayed, his boss felt the shift could start at 7 p.m.
However Pyle said after his boss received an alert about a tornado moving closer to the area, male employees were quickly moved into the men’s restroom and females went into the women’s restroom.
Pyle said about 10 minutes after he and his co-workers were moved into the restroom, the tornado blasted through a large portion of the huge facility. He estimated he was within 10 to 20 feet of the area the tornado cut a path through.
“My chest was literally beating so hard. For a minute, I was worried, am I having a heart attack at such a young age? It just went through so fast. It was literally seconds. Thankfully, everybody is O.K. I’m so glad to be here,” said Pyle.
Pyle said a large air vent located on top of the facility above the restroom he and his co-workers were in came crashing through the roof and landed in the area the workers were at in the restroom, just five seconds after the FedEx workers moved away from the area the vent came through.
“Had I been standing underneath it, I probably would have been crushed,” said the 24-year-old Village of Climax resident, who said there were at least eight FedEx employees in the rest room including co-workers, two security workers and two of his bosses.
Pyle said at that moment he and his co-workers heard a very loud gust of wind he described sounded like an atomic bomb going off. “And the whole roof came down and it shook the whole facility,” he said.
Pyle said after the roof collapsed the doors to the restroom started to blow open. He said three men were barricading the door to prevent the FedEx workers from getting sucked out.
The C-S graduate said the boss of his boss, told the FedEx workers they needed to evacuate the restrooms. He said the workers were then asked to move into a break room area, but a short time later they were told to move to the parking lot after it was determined that area may not be safe. He said the workers were told to get out of the building quickly, “because part of the building was crumbling as we were going out.” A short time after the workers were asked to evacuate to the parking lot, a gas pipe broke, setting off the fire alarms.
The Climax man said after he got out of the facility he observed a huge pile of rubble, water leaking from the ceiling he described as looking like a water fall, rafters that were bent, vans that were crushed and the section of the building he and his co-workers were in had partially collapsed.
“We got out just in time and then that part collapsed,” said Pyle, who said nobody was trapped inside and made it out of the facility safely.
“I firmly believe that my bosses and management saved all of our lives and getting us out in a timely manner. Without them, I don’t think I’d be here,” said Pyle, who guessed there were 50-70 employees working during his shift when the tornado struck.
“It was something that I had never experienced. Living in the Midwest, I have experienced a lot of storms and natural disasters. Even with the earthquake in 2016. That was really the first traumatic natural experience. But this is something I’ll never forget, being in there. Especially getting ready for the shift and having the building collapse over the top of us and making it out just in time,” observed Pyle.
Pyle said after the FedEx workers got outside, there was one person unaccounted for, but that person was located later unharmed.
“Everybody made it out on time and I’m so thankful for that,” said Pyle, who said many of the FedEx delivery vans were destroyed.
A short time after the FedEx employees were evacuated and had either left or were in their vehicles in the parking lot, another dangerous cell that was thought to be a second tornado the National Weather Service later said were straight line winds, moved through the area.
“There were fire trucks everywhere. There were police, there were ambulances,” said Pyle, who said it was chaotic for a few moments.
Pyle said for now, he along with many other FedEx employees are unemployed and waiting to be notified what their options are, which could include being transferred to another FedEx hub or facility.
“It’s something I’ll never forget, for sure,” said Pyle.
Climax resident Justin Pyle, who is closing in on his third year working at the FedEx facility on Portage Road, was looking forward to starting a new position in a different part of the huge facility May 7.
It turned out to be a memorable day for the 2018 Climax-Scotts High School graduate, but not in the way he was expecting.
Pyle was about to begin his shift when a tornado ripped through the facility, causing massive destruction, anxiety, and for a few moments, a feeling of whether he would get out alive.
Pyle, who started working for FedEx when the new building located at 6701 Portage Road opened in 2021, said about 15 minutes before his shift, which was delayed, his boss felt the shift could start at 7 p.m.
However Pyle said after his boss received an alert about a tornado moving closer to the area, male employees were quickly moved into the men’s restroom and females went into the women’s restroom.
Pyle said about 10 minutes after he and his co-workers were moved into the restroom, the tornado blasted through a large portion of the huge facility. He estimated he was within 10 to 20 feet of the area the tornado cut a path through.
“My chest was literally beating so hard. For a minute, I was worried, am I having a heart attack at such a young age? It just went through so fast. It was literally seconds. Thankfully, everybody is O.K. I’m so glad to be here,” said Pyle.
Pyle said a large air vent located on top of the facility above the restroom he and his co-workers were in came crashing through the roof and landed in the area the workers were at in the restroom, just five seconds after the FedEx workers moved away from the area the vent came through.
“Had I been standing underneath it, I probably would have been crushed,” said the 24-year-old Village of Climax resident, who said there were at least eight FedEx employees in the rest room including co-workers, two security workers and two of his bosses.
Pyle said at that moment he and his co-workers heard a very loud gust of wind he described sounded like an atomic bomb going off. “And the whole roof came down and it shook the whole facility,” he said.
Pyle said after the roof collapsed the doors to the restroom started to blow open. He said three men were barricading the door to prevent the FedEx workers from getting sucked out.
The C-S graduate said the boss of his boss, told the FedEx workers they needed to evacuate the restrooms. He said the workers were then asked to move into a break room area, but a short time later they were told to move to the parking lot after it was determined that area may not be safe. He said the workers were told to get out of the building quickly, “because part of the building was crumbling as we were going out.” A short time after the workers were asked to evacuate to the parking lot, a gas pipe broke, setting off the fire alarms.
The Climax man said after he got out of the facility he observed a huge pile of rubble, water leaking from the ceiling he described as looking like a water fall, rafters that were bent, vans that were crushed and the section of the building he and his co-workers were in had partially collapsed.
“We got out just in time and then that part collapsed,” said Pyle, who said nobody was trapped inside and made it out of the facility safely.
“I firmly believe that my bosses and management saved all of our lives and getting us out in a timely manner. Without them, I don’t think I’d be here,” said Pyle, who guessed there were 50-70 employees working during his shift when the tornado struck.
“It was something that I had never experienced. Living in the Midwest, I have experienced a lot of storms and natural disasters. Even with the earthquake in 2016. That was really the first traumatic natural experience. But this is something I’ll never forget, being in there. Especially getting ready for the shift and having the building collapse over the top of us and making it out just in time,” observed Pyle.
Pyle said after the FedEx workers got outside, there was one person unaccounted for, but that person was located later unharmed.
“Everybody made it out on time and I’m so thankful for that,” said Pyle, who said many of the FedEx delivery vans were destroyed.
A short time after the FedEx employees were evacuated and had either left or were in their vehicles in the parking lot, another dangerous cell that was thought to be a second tornado the National Weather Service later said were straight line winds, moved through the area.
“There were fire trucks everywhere. There were police, there were ambulances,” said Pyle, who said it was chaotic for a few moments.
Pyle said for now, he along with many other FedEx employees are unemployed and waiting to be notified what their options are, which could include being transferred to another FedEx hub or facility.
“It’s something I’ll never forget, for sure,” said Pyle.
Pictured is a portion of the FedEx building in Portage that was struck by the tornado May 7.
(Photo by Bruce Rolfe)
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