SUNBURY - Northumberland County's only water rescue team was put to the test in September when record-setting rainfall inundated much of the county.
Established in 2009, Sunbury Water Rescue averages between five and 10 rescues annually, usually on the Susquehanna River. Between Sept. 8 and Sept. 10, the 14-member team made 32 rescues in Hamilton, Tharptown and elsewhere in Coal Township, Upper Augusta Township, near Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg and other municipalities.
"For 24 hours, it was non-stop," Brian Rudy, team coordinator, said about the unprecedented activity during an interview Thursday evening at Rescue Hose, where the unit is based. He noted the team was in operation for three straight days, and, like most emergency personnel countywide, members had little time to rest.
Team members operate mostly on foot, walking through flood waters to a home, giving residents a life jacket and walking them back to safety. They also use ropes, if the situation calls for it.
14 people, 20 animals
The hairiest rescue was in Hamilton. The operation began with one call for help. Then two. Then nine. In all, the team walked 14 people, some with pets, to safety. They also moved about 20 animals to safety from Sunbury Animal Hospital.
Vickie Lehman, one of two women on the team, recalled rescuing the mother of an 11-month-old baby. She walked with the mother as team member Dustin Weirick carried the child. She said patches of swift water made walking through the flooding difficult.
"It was really creepy - the water receded and all of a sudden it came back in full force," she recalled.
Lehman and her husband, Danny, are both on the team. Weirick is her nephew. Her brother, Dean Weirick, is Sunbury's fire chief.
Sunbury Water Rescue is separate from the city's dive team and is funded by the fire department relief association and through fundraising. Its members belong to East Sunbury Hose, Americus Hose and Rescue Hose, an the organization currently has one boat and a hovercraft, which is being refurbished, along with two squad trucks.
'Extraordinary people'
Team members are certified in either open water rescue, emergency boat operation rescue and ice rescue, with most certified in all three. Their gear includes extreme dry suits, helmets, rubberized boots and gloves, ropes, slingshots and Stokes stretcher baskets.
They cover Susquehanna River's north and main branches, from the Montour County line south to Upper Paxton Township in Dauphin County.
"I can't even describe how valuable it's been," Dean Weirick said of Sunbury Water Rescue, noting he believes some of the water rescues couldn't have been conducted without the team. "The group of people we have in it now are just extraordinary. I can't say enough about them."
During Tropical Storm Lee, Weirick was operating a command center at East Sunbury Hose, where they receive dispatches from the county. For much of the first 24 hours, they were sent to one emergency call and returned safely, only to be dispatched almost immediately.
Only one person refused to leave his home. But others were hesitant at first, too.
"By the time we pulled some more people out and they saw how far the water came up, they were more than willing to go," Dustin Weirick said.
Rescues in Tharptown
Weirick, team member Richard Sinko, who is also Sunbury Fire Department battalion chief, and other team members all paid much credit to Mount Carmel Township's Beaverdale Fire Department, whose members assisted in Hamilton and on other rescues, using their brush truck to drive people to safety through waters that other apparatus couldn't drive through. Water rescue teams from Snyder and Mifflin counties also assisted.
In Tharptown in the early morning hours of Sept. 8, seven people were rescued. Dustin Weirick said the team was initially dispatched to a rescue near Split Vein Coal Co. along Route 61. They had to drive through Trevorton due to flooded roadways. When they arrived, they found they couldn't make it by truck to Split Vein. That's when they were asked by Coal Township personnel to lend a hand in Tharptown.
"'Can you stay here and help us? We have people who need to get out,'" Dustin Weirick recalled being told.
Rudy said an elderly couple was rescued from a trailer first. One couldn't walk, so a stretcher basket was used to bring her to safety. From there, they rescued another five residents.
"When we got to Tharptown, the water was moving fast and we knew it'd be trouble if we got into it," Rudy said of the danger presented by a raging Shamokin Creek.
"By the time the Tharptown call came around, some of us were up two days straight. Sleep was a big issue, but I think we have an excellent team here. We stuck together, did what we had to do and got the job done," Dustin Weirick said.