Wind Takes Roof Of Peddlers Inn, Residents Are Evacuated

Managing Editor/Publisher

A storm system which came through July 16, resulted in extensive damage and the evacuation of Peddlers Inn in Ulysses.

Grant County Fire Chief John Crosby said he was getting sporadic reports regarding the storm just before 9 p.m.

"There was heavy wind and rain and one section of the storm was bad - that's when it got the (Peddler's Inn)," Crosby said. "It peeled the roof off."

According to Crosby, the fire department received a call regarding the hit to the local business at around 9:02 p.m.

"We evacuated seven to eight people to another motel," he said. "The gas and electric all had to be shut off at (Peddler's Inn) because the water was coming in and there was a broken main gas line."

The firefighters who responded were on scene for about an hour and 15 minutes, according to Osborn.

"When we left, tarps were being put up to help keep water out of the building," he said.

Fourteen firefighters with five fire trucks responded for the fire department. Two other firefighters were on scene who responded with Emergency Medical Services. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Other first responders who answered the call were Ulysses Police Department, and Grant County Emergency Management, who brought with them an emergency response vehicle.

"The bus (emergency response vehicle) was used for people from the Peddler's Inn to stay in to get out of the rain," Crosby explained. "No one was allowed to go back in the motel."

Crosby said damage to the business would most likely be "extensive".

Grant County Emergency Director Jeff Baier said the bus was provided to Grant County and other counties in the region by Homeland Security of Southwest Kansas.

"It encompasses 18 counties," Baier said of the council. "The bus is designed to be used in the whole region. Grant County is the caretaker of the bus."

This is not the first time the special unit has been used in the region.

"Several years ago there was a fire in Haskell County and the bus was used to help evacuate a care home. It has tie downs and a ramp for wheelchairs."

The unit has seating for 10 people but it can also be used for sleeping.

"The chairs fold down into bunkbeds - so there is eight beds in it," Baier said. "The owner of the Peddlers Inn and his wife were going to stay in it, but they stayed in another motel instead."

Baier said the unit was also used when there was a hay fire near Moscow.

"We used it for sleeping quarters for the different crews who responded to that," Baier said. "We have also used it when we have responded to fires when it's cold out and we need to have a place to warm up for awhile. Or, if there is a structure fire and it's going to be awhile and we need a place to get in out of the wind. We were on standby for Garden City Hospital one time when they were having water issues and thought they might have to evacuate."

Each of the beds in the unit has its own fan and the unit has a generator.

"So we can have 120 volt power," explained Baier. "There are plug-ins along the wall in case we need to run power in. In the back there is a table and we can use that area as a command center if needed."

Baier says there is also a ramp in the unit for use when they need to evacuate people in wheelchairs.

"There are places to anchor the wheelchairs and clamp them down. We can haul quite a few people in here."

Baier said they have had the unit for close to 20 years. 

According to Baier, the council is in the process of building another unit for the Southwest Region which will be housed in Gray County.

"The advantage we will have over that one is we don't have to have CDL driver to drive this," Baier said, "because it is an emergency vehicle. They put more seats in their bus so it is classified as a passenger bus. In order to get that bus out they have to have a CDL driver with a passenger endorsement."

According to Baier 10 people can sleep in the unit here if needed.

"We also have IV set ups for IV poles," Baier said. "You could start an IV up if needed to for a patient."