In early March, an EF-3 tornado touched down in Oak Grove, Missouri, damaging 483 homes.
Some of the storm's first responders came from the Sni Valley Fire Protection District Station 1, and keeping them in mind, Charcandrick West, C.J. Spiller and newcomer Will Ratelle traveled to visit some of the department's members on Tuesday.
"They showed us footage of what happened back in March," Spiller said. "When you come down here and see it firsthand, you hear the stories, and you see the footage, and you really have a great appreciation for what these guys do because they have families as well."
Led by Chief Carl Scarborough, the firemen and firewomen aided Oak Grove citizens who had been in danger during the storm.
"Every time they get the call, they're risking their own lives," Spiller added. "I think they kind of put that in the back of their mind because they're going out to save someone's life, so to have that, you really have to have a genuine heart because not everybody's build like that.
"They have their own motives and their worried about their own lives. But these guys, they're worried about saving someone else."
While at the facility Scarborough showed off the unit's fire trucks and allowed the Chiefs to try on equipment. The players and firefighters then exchanged uniforms.
**
The Kansas City Chiefs Running back group visited the SNI Valley Fire protection district on Tuesday May 2, 2017 to talk about the tornado in the early spring and try on firefighter gear.
**
"It was fantastic," Scarborough said. "They've been great, and we appreciate their time. It's offseason for them, so the fact that they would take a little time to come out and spend with our firefighters out here, it's a really big deal.
"I'm happy for our Sni Valley family out here, getting an opportunity to spend a few extra minutes with a couple of Chiefs players and soak up a little appreciation for the work that they did."
