WESTERNPORT, MD -- While firefighters and EMS crews were out making rescues Tuesday, the raging water didn't show mercy on their stations.
Potomac Fire Co. #2 and Tri-Towns EMS stations -- which sit side by side -- were flooded.
"We had about two-and-a-half feet on water on the first floor. It's a mess," Tri-Towns EMS Chief Justin White said.
Everything in the supply room -- monitors, batteries, chargers, intubation equipment and other items -- was destroyed as well as gear.
As crews were out helping with the evacuation of students and staff at the elementary school and town residents, there was no apparatus in the station, the chief said.
"It happened really fast. There was no time to prepare or move things. We were out on calls," White said.
He has no idea how long it will be until crews can move back. While the second floor remains dry, the station is uninhabitable.
"Right now, the units and crews are operating out of Bloomington Volunteer Fire Department, which is nearby."
The chief said he appreciates the offers of support and crews who've shown up to help.
Similar cleanup operations are underway next door at Potomac Fire Department which was recently renovated.
Water lines were visible on walls throughout the first floor. Furniture in the lounge, office, and other rooms are soggy.
"It will definitely be a while before we can move back in," Potomac Fire Co. PIO Jonathan Dayton said. "Everything is just covered in mud and soaked."
Various supplies also were lost at the fire department. But, its apparatus also was out of the bay.
