VIDEO: With flash flooding threats and the peak of hurricane season on the horizon, first responders in the East are training for the moments when disaster strikes.
On the water, all it takes sometimes is one moment for things to spiral out of control.
“We want these teams prepared and ready to go into action on a moment’s notice,” Greenville Fire Chief Carson Sanders said.
That’s why the Greenville and New Bern fire departments, along with Greenville police, spent Wednesday morning training for swift water rescues. “As we saw in Greenville a couple weeks ago, we had flash flooding,” Sanders said. “So the ability to mobilize and start rescuing people... we had seven or eight rescues that night.”
Crews learned how to lift someone out of the water and how to maneuver around obstacles.
For New Bern Fire Capt. Steven Jerome, it’s not a matter of if, but when they’ll need to use these skills—which means it’s necessary to practice often.