MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (OSBORNE) -- A team of first responders from Rutherford County are just back from Texas where they were helping out following Hurricane Harvey.
A team of 11 spent last week in Houston doing welfare checks in neighborhoods still partially or completely flooded.
Battalion Chief Daryl Alexander says the Rutherford County team walked into some locations, but had to use boats to reach others.
“Some houses were flooded, some weren’t. Some people were still living at their homes, we were just checkin on them. The power was out in that section, so some people had decided they’d had enough. They didn’t want to stay there any longer so we’d bring them out.”
Alexander says the team was especially pleased to get to relieve some of their Houston colleagues.
“They had pulled the Houston Fire Department out to give them a break so that they can get rested up and recuperate where they could go back online and we filled in for them.”
The Battalion Chief says an unusual feature of Harvey is the remarkable level of civilian involvement in rescue and recovery.
“All the neighbors and everybody. The civilians that had come in in their personal boats. That’s probably going to stick with me more than anything.”
Alexander says his team got lots of hugs, handshakes and thanks. He says Houstonians couldn’t believe his team had traveled all the way from Tennessee to lend a hand.