Firefighters rescue couple in rising water
Firefighters had to put their swiftwater rescue skills to the test when a couple became stranded in the floodwaters on lower Dogwood Drive, just before noon last Tuesday, March 27.
Fire chief Steve Sims said the department was notified of a vehicle in the water, and an elderly couple was stuck in the car, so a water team had to get together.
Two firefighters, Scott Larson and Jason Young, went out into the running, rising waters using a tag line system. Another three to four emergency workers, Sims explained, stood alongside the shore holding ropes to help them stay stable and help pull them back to shore. The department currently has nine firefighters trained in water rescue, he said, with three on each shift to ensure there should always be someone available.
They had personal flotation devices, or PFDs on, he said, and had to carry extras for the people they were rescuing. Once they reached the car, they gave the occupants PFDs, he said, before guiding them to shore one at a time. A firefighter stands on either side of the person they’re walking to shore, he said, and they take steps together for maximum stability while the crew on shore pulls on the rope to keep them moving in the right direction.
Larson, who waded out into the water to make the rescue, said rescues like this can be challenging and they’re always stressful.
“You’ve always got that pressure and the adrenaline rush,” he said. “You’re never in good situations. It’s always rainy and overcast, the lighting is poor… Floodwaters are always cold, it doesn’t matter what time of year it is.”
This rescue was relatively straightforward, he said, with the vehicle sitting roughly 30 feet from shore and on a somewhat level surface — though the roughly foot-and-a-half deep water rose to waist level in the approximately 10 minutes it took to rescue the two occupants.
Firefighters employed what’s referred to as a shallow water crossing, he said, to rescue the couple. But if the water got any deeper, he explained, they would
be swimming. But even walking, he said, can be difficult.
“The thing about swiftwater is moving water adds to buoyancy,” Larson said. “It makes it a little easier to float… it’s almost impossible to walk in because it wants to push you off your feet and float you.”
In addition to the current threatening to take one’s footing, he said, rescuers have to watch out for debris, which is always plentiful in a flood. This time, he said, that debris included a snake swimming along — which did not help keep the cars’ occupants calm.
While this particular situation worked out, Chief Sims said, it’s best if people avoid getting their vehicles stuck in the water. A car can float off in six inches of water if there’s a strong enough current, he said.
In this case, he said, the couple drove onto lower Dogwood Drive before it was barricaded. The street had previously been checked and did not need a barricade at first — but the situation with flood water can change very rapidly, he said.
“If you can’t see the road, don’t even try to drive on it,” Sims said.