Kentucky fire major was shielding wife from tornado when he died, and may not have known it was her

By Alex Suckow

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    LAUREL COUNTY, Kentucky (WLKY) — A fire major was killed in the line of duty during a tornado in Laurel County.

Now, his fire department says he was shielding his wife from harm when he died — and he may not have even known it was her.

Major Les Leatherman, of the Laurel County Fire Department, responded during storms Friday night to a fire alarm on Sunshine Hills Road, which was the most ravaged area in the county.

Once a tornado was confirmed, all county fire departments were called to respond.

When crews arrived at Sunshine Hills road, they found two people in a field: a woman who was calling out for help with a man lying on top of her.

Less than an hour after Leatherman started his response, fire officials said he was unreachable, and it was later determined he was the man in the field, and it was his wife beneath him.

Fire officials believe that while Leatherman was headed toward the fire, the tornado struck, and he encountered his wife in the field.

“He used his body to shield her from harm,” fire officials said.

Leatherman’s brother-in-law, Dwight Scalf, said he wasn’t surprised to hear that Les died doing what he does best — protecting his wife.

“He wrapped himself around my sister and I guess when the tornado hit, that it just separated them,” Scalf said.

Because of the extreme darkness, noise and trauma of it all, fire officials said they don’t even know whether Leatherman knew it was his wife he was shielding.

His wife, Michelle, was critically injured.

Officials say Michelle has multiple broken bones, but she is expected to make a recovery.

Leatherman’s heroism and dedication to public service are being honored by his department, and funeral services are pending.

“He was just, everything that you would want in a man and just a great hearted guy,” Scalf said.

Scalf says he hopes that Les can be remembered as a hero.

“The people that you love, Just tell them how much you love them. You know, if you know, if we knew that it was going to be the last time that we seen him, you know, we we would have loved on him little more,” he said.

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