First Responders don’t sit around waiting… in case the phone rings. They sit around waiting for WHEN the phone rings.
City workers, who already had a full load, and even an extra-full load because of the recent storms with hail and strong winds, are now doing extra tasks. Yes, it brings variety to the job, but some kinds of variety you can do without.
When you get called out to a rescue, the adrenaline begins to flow. You are alert, hypervigilant, and ready to go.
You don’t stop to think about what can happen to you, but “How can I help THEM?”.
You don’t stop to think: “If I go out on this high-water or swift-water rescue, they may not make it.”
“If I go out on this high-water or swift-water rescue, I may not make it.”
“If I go out on this high-water or swift-water rescue, I may be endangering myself by getting in the contaminated flood water.”
We would probably think that the water is just dirty. Yes, it is dirty. However, that is not the end of the story. There are truly contaminates in it. Chemicals, sewage, whatever all these folks had in their garage that became ‘unsealed’ during the flood. Just think about what is in YOUR garage. What if all of that was opened and poured into the flood waters. Now, multiply that by the number of houses up and down the flood area. That is a lot of chemicals.
There is no end to the list of what could be and is in the water.
Then you have to consider the other dangers that lurk in the floodwaters. Yes – fish that are out of the river, but also snakes, fire ants, and who knows what else.
Last week, you could drive around town and see people’s belongings sitting out on the side of the road. It was almost as if someone had been evicted or kicked out of their house, and their belongings were thrown to the curb.
However, that was not the case at all.
These were not unwanted appliances or furniture people put on the curb for the city workers to pick up. They were their beloved belongings that are now ruined.
There has to be an emotional toll on a person picking up that type of flood debris. It is very different than picking up the tree limbs and brush from the wind storms we had weeks before the horrible floods.
And it is not just First Responders and City and County Employees, but many businesses, and volunteers from here and from far away have helped with the recovery and rescue efforts.
I spoke with Connie Gomez from Hamrick’s Automotive. They towed out three cars stuck under the railroad bridge on Hwy 16 just north of the light. That has to be very different than picking up a stalled car on the side of the road.
There are also many individuals and groups from other cities and states that have come to San Saba to help us recover from the flood. I imagine these will all be affected by what they see while they are here.
See the story “History uncovered” in this week’s edition to find out about one of those groups.