The community of Laurel County, Kentucky, is grieving the loss of more than a dozen people, including a firefighter who spent nearly four decades helping others, after a tornado destroyed his neighborhood while he was on duty.

Multiple fatalities have been confirmed in Laurel County, Kentucky following a reported tornado overnight. Saturday morning, the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that nine people died and others had numerous severe injuries after the reported tornado.

Rescue crews raced to search houses in a Laurel County subdivision, a few hours after brutal storms and an unconfirmed tornado devastated parts of the county.

Survey teams were still working to assess damage into the evening Sunday, but officials said they have already documented severe damage near and west of the London-Corbin Airport.

Families hunkered down in their bathrooms and emerged to find their homes gone when a deadly tornado barreled through the community of London, Kentucky, on Friday, leaving behind only foundations where houses once stood.

Nick Ulrich was in his mother’s home when a tornado ripped the roof off her house late Friday night.

Entire neighborhoods were razed, leaving residents combing through debris, desperate to recover fragments of their lives.

Just before 3 p.m., the Laurel County Fire Department confirmed Maj. Roger Leslie Leatherman was fatally injured while reportedly responding to an potential tornado in the area. He is the second publicly identified victim of Friday’s overnight storms.

A preliminary survey by National Weather Service Jackson suggests an EF-3 tornado struck Laurel County late Friday.

Mercy Chefs was founded by Gary LeBlanc a year after Katrina hit. Since then, the organization has traveled all over to help people through devastating times.