Arkansas emergency responder discusses the dangers of Texas flood
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Heavy rain in Texas caused a major flood that left several people dead including multiple children.
Hundreds have been rescued but many are still missing.
Scot Erwin, the Battalion Chief of Conway Fire Department, was devastated to hear what happened.
This all hit home for him after spending several years doing water rescues.
He along with others across the state have trained endlessly each year at Arkansas Fire and Boat School on how to respond to water emergencies.
Some of those volunteers were in Texas last week before it flooded. Erwin says the flood brought back memories of his past experiences.
"We've seen a lot of these situations, and this is not that farfetched from what we've dealt with back early in the spring," Erwin said.
He says when water reaches a certain point it can sometimes be unpredictable and hard to escape.
"It's very unforgiving, it doesn't stop you can't pause it, and the weight of it is tremendous," Erwin said.
Dozens in Texas experienced that firsthand. Multiple families have been separated.
Erwin says rescuing people in times like this can be difficult.
"Everything is under the water that used to be on top so your fences your street poles, your street signs," Erwin said.
After years of making rescues in similar situations Erwin says he knows this wasn't easy for the rescuers in Texas to handle, and when working through tragedies like this there’s only one thing to do.
"You just do what you can, that's how you handle it. You give your best and you hope for the best sometimes it doesn't always work out but that's just how you handle it" Erwin said.
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