While hospital and emergency response officials praised the actions of paramedics, firefighters, police officers and emergency room staffers in responding to Monday's school bus crash that left five children dead, there was general agreement that the horrific accident left many emotionally scarred.
"I've never seen a more upset group of ambulance workers," said one emergency room staffer, who asked to remain anonymous. The scene inside the mangled bus "was pretty bad," Chattanooga Fire Chief Chris Adams said. "It was something you shouldn't ever see."
The first word of the accident came in about 3:20 p.m. — a bus crash with schoolchildren in it. But firefighters were not concerned.
"We have those from time to time, so everybody is not real ramped up when that comes in," Adams said Tuesday.