As floodwaters receded across south-central Kentucky at the start of the week, a team of Owensboro firefighters went door to door in some of the hardest-hit communities, assessing damage and checking on residents cut off by washed-out roads and bridges.
The six-member Owensboro Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team returned Monday evening after a three-day deployment coordinated through Kentucky Emergency Management. The firefighters initially staged in Elizabethtown before being reassigned to Cumberland County on Sunday and Clinton County on Monday as flooding impacted communities across the region.
Lt. Jared Peacock said the deployment was made possible through the city’s support of the department’s special operations program.
“Our special operations programs allow us to go outside the city to help our neighbors as much as possible,” Peacock said.
Floodwaters caused extensive damage in portions of Cumberland County, particularly in the Marrowbone community, where homes, businesses, bridges and roadways were heavily impacted.
“There were a lot of homes damaged, a lot of businesses damaged,” Peacock said. “There were bridges washed out, roadways washed out.”
Although the team responded to several rescue requests, Peacock said those situations had been resolved before firefighters arrived. Instead, much of the deployment focused on documenting the extent of the flooding and checking on residents who still needed assistance.
“Our role on this deployment was as the waters were receding,” Peacock said. “We were going in, doing damage assessments and logging everything into a program that gets fed back to Frankfort so they could get eyes on what was going on and see what people’s needs were.”
Using the state’s SARCOP damage assessment system, firefighters documented damage to homes, businesses, roads, and bridges while photographing affected areas. The information helps emergency officials determine the extent of the damage and prioritize future recovery efforts.
The team also checked on residents who had become isolated after floodwaters washed away culverts and access roads.
Capt. Matt Cissell said firefighters also worked to ensure residents had what they needed to remain in their homes safely.
“We would go in, talk to them, make sure they were OK, make sure they had food and medications if they planned to stay,” Cissell said. “If they needed assistance later, we documented that so somebody could follow up.”
Peacock said deployments like this are coordinated through Kentucky Emergency Management when local emergency resources become overwhelmed and additional trained personnel are needed.
“When resources in an area are taxed, especially when you get into some of the smaller communities that don’t necessarily have the resources that we have at our disposal here, they’ll put a request in through Kentucky EM,” Peacock said. “We’re very fortunate that our city leadership is supportive of getting us out the door whenever other communities need help.”
Owensboro firefighters have assisted on similar deployments in recent years, including responses to tornadoes and flooding in eastern Kentucky. Those deployments also reinforce the value of the team’s specialized training.
“It helps us become better qualified for the citizens,” Cissell said.
He added that mutual aid remains an important part of emergency response across the state.
“We’re happy to be able to take our resources and our abilities to help them in hopes that if we ever need it, we’ll also receive the same benefit from another neighboring county or state,” Cissell said.
