Three water rescues and a rope rescue were conducted the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad after several days of torrential rain fall over the weekend. This less than a week after county commission voted to appropriate $18,000 to organize a Swift Water Rescue Task Force.
Captain Dusty Johnson said the first call came on Saturday at 5:09 p.m. after a woman fell down the side of a steep hill near the lake on Aaron Webb Road off Potts Camp Road in the Jefferson Community.
According to Johnson the woman was with others clearing a wooded area behind a residence when she lost her footing and slid down the hill. A tree stopped her slide but she could not get back up the hill without help.
“We launched our boat on the lake at the end of Potts Camp Road, docked below the hill, and used ropes to climb the hill to gain access to her. EMS paramedics arrived at the top of the hill and walked around the bluff to meet us. We placed the woman in a stokes basket and lowered her down below the hill to our boat. We placed her in our boat, went back to the ramp, and then transported her by vehicle to the ambulance. EMS then took her to Ascension Saint Thomas River Park Hospital in McMinnville,” said Captain Johnson.
Later that night the rescue squad was summoned to 602 Possum Hollow Road near Dry Creek where three adults and three children were trapped at their home due to rising water.
Captain Johnson said the call came in at 10:45 p.m.
“One place in the road was washed completely out down to the tile. It was so flooded that it kept us from being able to drive to the residence. We had to walk probably two miles to get there and cross several areas where swift water was crossing the road. We finally got there and helped the people get to a neighbors house across the road but higher on the hill where they would be safer,” said Captain Johnson.
The Rescue Squad was again summoned at 1:45 a.m. Sunday morning to 787 East Main Street where a man and his dog were trapped in their home by rising flood waters.
“We got a call from a man who said water was rising near his home and he and his dog needed help getting out. We got nearly to his house when another wave of storms moved in. Because the water was getting so deep we called Wilson County to come and help us so they sent four people including two from Watertown. After we got the man and his dog out of the house someone from Murfreesboro came to pick them up,” said Captain Johnson.
Another call came in Sunday afternoon at 1:38 p.m.at the Alexandria to Dismal Road Bridge where a motorist stalled after trying to drive through a flooded area but before the Rescue Squad arrived bystanders came upon the scene and got the woman out of her car to safety.
Having obvious needs for a Swift Water Rescue Task Force, the county commission voted unanimously, during last Monday night’s meeting, to appropriate $18,000 from the general fund balance as an extra contribution to the Rescue Squad to train and equip up to fifteen volunteers for the task force. That comes to a little less than $1,200 per person.
The task force, to be led by the Rescue Squad, will also include volunteers from the DeKalb County, Smithville and Alexandria Volunteer Fire Departments and possibly local law enforcement officers and others who would be specially trained and equipped for swift water rescues.
Pic 1: Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad conducts rope rescue of a woman who slid down a steep hill near Aaron Webb Road and Potts Camp Road Saturday afternoon.
Pic 2: Dusty Johnson, with the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad spoke at last week’s county commission meeting requesting funds for a Swift Water Rescue Task Force.
