Oct. 23--For eight weeks, first responders across Johnson County volunteered to spend tireless days away from their families to assist in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Those firefighters and emergency personnel were honored Thursday night during the Johnson County Emergency Services District No. 1 monthly meeting.
Harvey roared ashore the Texas coast Aug. 19 as a Category 4 hurricane, packing winds of 130 mph or more.
The resulting floods inundated thousands of homes, displaced more than 30,000 people and prompted more than 17,000 rescues -- at least 88 fatalities have been confirmed, most of which were drownings.
Cleburne, Bono, Godley, Grandview and Joshua fire departments were able to deploy more than 20 firefighters and personnel to deal with the storm's impact.
While handing out certificates to each department, ESD Executive Director Tom Foster said they were giving more than a thank you on a piece of paper.
"They left their families and went down to harm's way and made some big differences down there," he said. "This is a heartfelt thank you."
Foster described the impact each station made.
He said CFD Firefighter Josh Hill was deployed for 15 days with Texas Task Force 2 initially to the Rockport area for search and rescue operations after the hurricane made landfall, then later relocated to the South Houston area.
"The team Josh Hill was assigned to made over 300 high-water rescues in Houston," he said.
Cleburne Engine 485 was assigned from Aug. 26 to Sept. 9 to a Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System strike team in San Patricio and Nueces counties.
"Lt. Robert Willingham and firefighters John Cullen and Kolten Pence initially provided primary searches of damaged structures during the emergency operations phase," Foster said. "In the recovery mode, crews were providing 24/7 coverages until the local fire service was able to be established again. They also coordinated with the electric company to provide fire standbys on large structures as electrical power was restored."
From Aug. 30 to Sept. 11, Foster said CFD Lt. Travis Ball and Firefighter Corey Bauman provided additional staffing on Burleson Fire Department's heavy rescue team.
"They were part of a large task force of 26 fire apparatus from the Fort Worth/Arlington region," he said. "Crews initially provided high-water rescues, then assisted with storm damage assessments for the Texas Division of Emergency Management during the recovery phase."
Then from Sept. 9-22, Foster said CFD Lt. Eric Thomas and firefighters Jonathan Redfield, Howard Lillagore and Eric Halvorson replaced the first crew deployed with Cleburne Engine 485, with Lt. Sephen Bicknell and firefighters Willie Rodriguez, Danny Wilson and Chris Provence replacing them from Sept. 22 to Oct. 6.
Cleburne Fire Chief Clint Ishmael said he is proud of the service his crews provided.
"It's nice to be able to send Cleburne and Johnson County guys down to the coast when the state needs some help to show them what we are made of," he said. "Those guys were able to do some really good things for the folks down there and were spoken of highly so Johnson County and this area are going to be remembered for a long time down there."
Other station involvement included:
Bono Volunteer Fire Department had one firefighter and board of director assist in loading a plane with relief goods and fly to Vidor to help unload.
Godley Fire Department sent Chief James Woolard, GFD Engineer Chris Pribble and firefighter Dustin Abbott to Rockport as part of Strike Team 124 from Aug. 29 to Sept. 5. They assisted with debris removal, roof tarping and clean up, as well as running a few calls.
Joshua Fire Department sent Chief Wayne Baker, JFD Lt. Jeremy Morris and Drone Pilot Garret Bryl to Missouri City to fly drones for flood damage assessment and levee inspection. They also assisted with scouting routes in the Beaumont area for the state to get strike teams through.
Grandview Fire Department sent firefighters Clay Ringer and Kyle Triplett and a tender truck as part of a tender task force assigned to Beaumont from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7.
Helping the help
Alvarado Fire Chief Richard VanWinkle said the State Fire Marshals Association set up a donation account to provide funds to firefighters who lost homes and property during the hurricane.
"When it originally started they had collected around $50,000 and then they received a call from the Metro Atlanta Area Chiefs Association that they were going to have a one-day fundraiser that they wanted to donate to that cause," he said. "That one day they collected around $225,000. I think there were 73 fire stations that were either damaged or destroyed, including 115 fire apparatus."
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