Last week’s “County Hall Corner” article was centered around the Greater Williamsport Levee System, which protects a large portion of the commercial area of our county from floods. Little did I realize when I was writing that article that there was a tremendous, horrible flood that would hit southern Texas, killing over 100 people, many of whom were children.
Floods basically come in two categories: slow-rising floods (which we often experience in our area) and flash floods, where the water comes all at once. This is what happened in Texas on July 4th. Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River, saw the water rise 26 feet in just 45 minutes. At least 28 children were drowned, and there are still 10 girls and one counselor missing, most probably drowned as well.
The good news, as such, was that over 850 people were rescued, thanks to extraordinary efforts involving helicopters, boats, drones, and more than 400 first responders.
Preparation is what makes this happen, and Pennsylvania has also recognized this vital necessity when it established the Pennsylvania Voluntary Rescue Service Recognition (VRSR) program, which was officially launched on March 1, 2009. It was prepared by the Emergency Health Services Council under contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Office of the State Fire Commissioner.
The emergency services that the VRSR program is to perform is for agriculture rescue, collapse rescue, confined spare rescue, industrial rescue, transportation rescue (which includes planes, trains, and automobiles, and that is not from the movie of that name but the VRSR document itself), trench/cave-in rescue, water and ice rescue, and wilderness search and rescue.
In the 26 years since VRSR was established, only two fire companies in the county, Williamsport’s Bureau of Fire and the Clinton Township VFD, have received certification. Clinton Township has trained in each of those eight areas. In the LST Region (Lycoming, Tioga, and Sullivan counties), there is just one more, Millerton VFD, located in Tioga County, just a few miles from the New York border.
As a (proud) member of the Clinton Township Volunteer Fire Company, I know how hard this team works for all the areas of responsibility, especially the seventeen miles of the Susquehanna River that our company covers. To complete a PA Water Rescue training requires areas such as awareness, boat ops, and ice rescue. And listening to my fellow fire company members who have taken these requirement qualifications, it is not designed to be fun.
But it is rewarding. I remember well my father getting up in the middle of the night to answer a fire or accident call. He worked a full-time job and was a notary public in his spare time. But when that unbearably loud klaxon went off, my dad went off to the fire company. When I returned to the Montgomery area in 2006, I found myself drawn to volunteer activities, and the Clinton Township Volunteer Fire Company was the one area I appreciated the most. Just being around these volunteers, males and females, is stimulating and encouraging.
Those who have a heart and mind to help others should consider joining their local fire company. Yes, many think they have no extra time, given that it is hard to make a decent living these days. However, when an emergency arises, we all expect the ambulance, the fire department, or God forbid, the water rescue or recovery team to come and help. As John F. Kennedy so wonderfully stated, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
