Oklahoma City Fire Rescue Teams Aid Communities Affected By Hurricane Helene

Historic floodwaters from Hurricane Helene left a 600-mile stretch of destruction in the southeastern United States.

Rescue teams from Oklahoma City traveled to Tennessee and North Carolina to help people evacuate. OKC Fire Department water rescue teams train for these moments to be ready to rescue people no matter the distance. 

Images hardly paint the picture Brad Smith’s eyes see. The Oklahoma City Fire Battalion fire chief is one of 16 members of a swift water rescue team helping communities eroded by historic flooding. “Absolutely devastating,” Smith said. “We’ve never encountered any water like we saw Friday. Two days ago, this area was impossible to access at all.” Smith said 30 inches of rain have fallen in some places. “You feel for the people that live here,” Smith said. 

Smith’s unit left for North Carolina last Thursday. Water wiped out many Tennessee roads and people needed their help before they reached their original destination. “A bridge had been completely washed away,” Smith said. Along the Nolichucky River, Smith and his team made four different rescues. “One of those houses was actually floating down the river when our people rescued a lady from her house,” Smith said. “If we had shown up an hour later, those people probably would not have survived that.” 

Smith sees their purpose. He said their mission goes the distance to save lives. “Absolutely, we all got into public service for these reasons because we wanna help people,” Smith said. “It’s a good feeling to be able to give back and help out our neighbors.” 

Smith said there is no word on their return because they expect more heavy rain this week. Smith’s team assisted during other natural disasters, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017.