SAFD crew in Rio Grande Valley rescues people from flooded homes

Crews rescue 75 people in 2 days

ALTON, Texas – Members of the San Antonio Fire Department are in the Rio Grande Valley rescuing people from their flooded homes, as the region continues to deal with heavy rain and flooding.

The Alamo City’s very best served as a backup as part of Texas Task Force One. Their job is to assist local emergency responders across the Valley in a time of crisis.

Getting people to leave their home isn’t always easy. Eli Dierkhising, a fire engineer with SAFD, said most times it just takes one person to ask for help and the rest will follow.

“If you see a boat go by and people see their neighbors in that boat leaving, they think they know something that they don't know yet,” Dierkhising said. “They want to get out as well, so it kind of starts a trend.”

In two days, crews have rescued about 75 people in the upper and lower Valley. SAFD said a crew will be there as long as it is necessary.

KSAT’s Bill Barajas spoke with one young woman who was rescued and is just happy to be out of danger. Watch the story in the video below:

TX-TF1 working closely with response partner Texas Military Department personnel are out conducting high water rescue...

Posted by Texas A&M Task Force 1 on Thursday, June 21, 2018

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