National Guard assists EMS in flood relief

Photo By Staff Sgt. Jonathan Shaw | North Carolina Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Joshua Carr, a land combat electronics technician with the 230th Brigade Support Battalion, and local emergency services assist with evacuation efforts in Fayetteville, N.C., Oct. 08, 2016. Heavy rains caused by Hurricane Matthew have led to flooding as high as five feet in some areas. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Shaw, 382nd Public Affairs Detachment/Released)  

FAYETTEVILLE, NC, UNITED STATES

10.10.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Shaw 

382nd Public Affairs Detachment

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – North Carolina Army National Guard soldiers assisted North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) with flood relief and rescue efforts across the eastern half of North Carolina staring on Oct. 08, 2016.
Nearly 200 NCARNG soldiers were activated, staged and ready to conduct relief efforts with their EMS counterparts across the eastern coast of North Carolina by Friday afternoon.
By Saturday afternoon the east coast had been receiving rain from Hurricane Matthew for almost 12 hours and emergency calls were coming in.
One of those calls came from a neighborhood of townhomes where its residents had unexpectedly found themselves in chest-deep floodwaters that looked like they would not stop rising in the near future.
NCEM prides themselves on being able to handle just about anything that gets thrown their way, but some situations just cannot be resolved without the training and equipment of the National Guard.
Staff Sgt. Joshua Carr, a land combat electronic systems technician with the NCNG’s 230th Brigade Support Battalion, and his two-man team responded immediately.
While swift-water rescue teams from NCEM rescued families from the high water areas of the neighborhood, Carr and his team drove their Light Medium Tactical Vehicle, a troop transport truck capable of maneuvering through six-foot high waters with ease, from door to door offering a safe path to dry land.
“The current was a little bit strong here and there. I was a little worried about falling and not being able to catch myself,” said Carr. “I was more worried about the safety of the people. I just wanted to make sure that everybody got out before the current could get anyone else.”
After almost three hours of wading through dirty, cold floodwaters, dodging trash and debris, and carefully navigating through swells and currents that could sweep a two hundred pound man’s feet out from under him. Carr and his team returned to Fire Station 12, their base of operations.
Carr’s team had just enough time to change into their spare uniforms, throw their wet clothes in the dryer and heat up their meals, before they received another call. This time it came from an elderly care facility in Hope Mills.
As rains continued to hammer Cumberland County a few bed-ridden patients still needed to be moved from the area but streets were flooded with nearly four feet of water and they needed help.
When Carr and his team arrived the situation was worse than they thought. Not only did they have three bed-ridden patients to evacuate, but it was feared that if the rain didn’t stop soon nearby dams might break and flood the entire area.
Carr and his team repeated their actions of that afternoon. This time however, the water was colder, the residents a bit more stubborn, and with the power out they had only the light of their headlights to show the way.
Again, Carr, his soldiers, and EMS were able to evacuate the area and the patients were moved to Cape Fear Valley Hospital safely minutes before the roads out of Hope Mills were completely impassible, even to Carr and his LMTV.
“The National Guard has been a lifesaver.” Said Lt. Tim Winger, a lead paramedic with Cumberland County EMS. “Bringing these large military vehicles in that can get through the higher waters that our standard can’t has been a godsend.”
Sunday morning, after close to eighteen hours of nonstop rain, Carr transported the patients he had rescued the previous night to a more permanent facility. The faces of the staff and the numbers of drivers on the roads gave the impression that people were optimistic that the worst was over.
The sun was shining, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and water levels were going down. Carr new that water was going somewhere and that he had not received his last call. But when he does get the call, he’ll be ready.
“We’re expecting to be on two or three more days but we can go on longer, if needed,” said Carr.

• Date Taken: 10.10.2016
• Date Posted: 10.11.2016 17:40
• Story ID: 211746
• Location: FAYETTEVILLE, NC, US