Former Lynchburg Fire Chief Cecil "Buddy" Martinette retired from the department in 2005. In 2008 he became the Fire Chief in Wilmington, North Carolina. "I had a wonderful and great six years in Lynchburg, I worked with some fantastic people and many of them are still there," he said.
He says the destruction from hurricane Florence is beyond what he could have imagined.
"I know one night alone we made close to 350 water rescues," Martinette said.
Martinette says he was also there as the department responded to a tree that fell on a home killing a mother and her infant daughter.
"We've had a rough week as you can imagine," Martinette said.