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SPECIAL COVERAGE - FLOOD 2004
Friday September 17, 2004.
Weirton, WV - The day began just like any other day. By nightfall, many would
consider themselves lucky to be alive. As the remnants of Hurricane IVAN began
dumping rain on the Ohio Valley around 5:00AM, IVAN seemed to gain strength and
produced more rain than this little valley could handle. By noon, the nightmare
began.
Around 12:00PM water from Harmon and Kings Creeks in
Weirton had begun to rise out of its banks. City Fire Department personnel
received numerous reports of residential flooding and requests for pumps.
By 2:00PM the City of Weirton Volunteer Division and the
River/Swift Water Rescue Team was put on stand-by under the command of
Lieutenant Mike Mudrick. As heavy rain continued reports of mudslides on US
Route 22 began to pour in. Initial reports indicated that a school bus with
children had been hit by the slide and occupants were trapped. First in units
advised that there were no vehicles involved and no injuries but the East Bound
lane of Route 22 was blocked by debris.
Main Street residents of Freedom Place 1 and 2 (an elderly
residential complex) called and reported that the parking lot and first floor
level had begun to take on water from nearby Harmon Creek. Engine 4 Lieutenant
Jeff Bertha who responded to the Freedom Place complex requested that both
buildings be evacuated. Busses from the City of Weirton Transit Company were
dispatched and evacuated residents to the Thomas E. Milsop Community Center. The
Center was eventually turned into a staging area for displaced residents and a
command post. By 3:00PM numerous vehicles parked at the Freedom Place Complex
were completely submerged by the water.
Weirton Engine 2 under the command of Lieutenant Jerry
Shumate requested the River/Swift Water Rescue Team respond to the Culler Road /
Country Club portion of the City to assist in evacuating trapped residents. The
team arrived at around 3:20PM and three residents were rescued before the team
received a priority request to respond to the 12th Street / Kings Creek Road
area. Several residents were trapped inside their homes. One family of three
reported that their residence had partially collapsed and were in fear of being
swept away from the current. Shumate and his crew stayed in the area of Country
Club and assisted residents while they evacuated.
Weirton's River/Swift Water Rescue Team arrived in Kings
Creek at 4:05PM and were amazed at what they saw.
Many of the homes in the area and adjacent Green Tree Lane
were under water. The creek which normally flows in a westerly direction had
broke from its bank and was now flowing around 30 miles per hour towards
occupied structures. Water rescue personnel began to survey the scene and
formalize a rescue plan. The concern was that the current was too swift to make
a head-on course to the trapped residents. Green Tree Lane appeared more calm
and it was decided that the crew would attempt to rescue residents by boat
insertion at Green Tree Lane and maneuver behind the homes on Kings Creek Road.
Lieutenant Mudrick and Firefighters Kevin Williams and Dan
Masterantoni launched the boat and begun to float down Green Tree Lane. Due to a
large amount of debris and outside obstacles, they could not get the boat behind
the homes on Green Tree and cut a path to trapped residents on Kings Creek Road.
The three crew members tied the boat off at the end of Green Tree and walked
across the hillside towards the residence that had partially collapsed. Engine 4
under the command of Lieutenant Ted Maslowski responded to a roadway directly
above the residential collapse and attempted to throw a rope to the victims.
This proved unsuccessful. The only way to rescue them was to do so by water. At
one point, Williams and Masterantoni disappeared and could not be found. Mudrick
believed that the current had swept them away and feared that they were dead. At
4:40PM, City of Weirton Police Lieutenant Dave Popish who was "on-shore" had
received a report that a Dam in nearby Beaver County was about to fail. The Dam
spills into arteries of Kings Creek. It was believed that if the Dam broke,
emergency personnel would only have a few minutes to completely evacuate the
area before being swept away. Due to heavy radio traffic, communication with the
rescue crew was impossible. A PA system was used to relay the information to the
crew but due to the extreme noise level, it could not be heard. Popish who's son
is also a Weirton Police Officer called his son via cellular phone. Eric Popish
is a resident of Green Tree Lane and was also stranded due to the flooding.
Popish was able to find Mudrick and relay the information that his father had
advised. At that time, Mudrick located 5 residents in a house and successfully
rescued them taking them back to "shore". Upon returning to "shore", Popish
advised that there were two more elderly residents on Green Tree that no one had
heard from. Mudrick and Firefighter Creston Kennedy responded by boat to the
residence and made entry. An elderly man and his wide were found walking inside
in nearly 4 feet of water. Both the man and his wife were removed from the
residence and safely taken to "shore". Mudrick then advised that two of his crew
members were missing. Other rescue personnel at the scene advised that his crew
(Williams and Masterantoni) had made it to Engine 4 and were safe. No other
information regarding the Dam was known at the time. Rescue personnel were then
advised that more of the structure where the family of three were located had
collapsed. It was believed that they only had a few more minutes before they
would be swept away. Weirton Resident Dave Krensavage came to the scene hauling
a Sea-Doo Jet Ski. It was decided that this would be the only way to get to the
trapped family. Mudrick advised that he would attempt the rescue using the ski.
Upon launching the ski, a path was mapped out from Green Tree Lane. Mudrick was
able to find a clear patch behind several houses and through a flooded field.
While in-route to the trapped family, he observed two other residents of Kings
Creek Road standing on the front porch of their home. He stopped and advised
them that he would return as soon as he was able to get their neighbors to
safety. They told him that they did not wish to leave. Even after Mudrick
explained the severity of the situation, the refused to leave. Mudrick continued
to the trapped family of three and begun to rescue them one at a time. He was
greeted by a man, his wife and adult daughter. The first of the three to be
rescued was the man's wife. On the trip back to "shore", they encountered a yard
trampoline and became stuck atop of it. Both Mudrick and the man's wife had to
get off of the ski and move it back into the water. Once in the water Mudrick
re-boarded the ski and assisted the wife back on. She was taken to "shore"
without further incident. He returned for the man's daughter and brought her
back to shore unscaved. The water at that time had begun to move more rapidly.
It was believed that the speed was around 35 to 40 miles per hour. Mudrick
returned a third time and the man boarded the ski. Upon pulling away from the
residence at full throttle, they found themselves inside of a swift stream and
not moving. Mudrick decided that they needed to shift to neutral and drift with
the current a short distance until they found another path. The two drifted for
about 30 feet before finding another route. Although they were tossed about the
swift current, Mudrick and the man returned to "shore" safely. Lieutenant Popish
was informed of the two residents who refused to leave. The rescue crew had only
a few minutes to rehab when they were summoned to the area of Culler Road and
Pleasant Valley Trailer Court. At 7:15PM the responded.
Upon arriving in the area, Shumate advised that his crew
was able to evacuate and rescue around 17 people and the rescue boat was not
needed. At 7:45PM, the crew was dispatched to the Cove Valley Estates area of
the City. This area borders Kings Creek and is accessible from US Route 2, Kings
Creek Road, 12th Street and Turkey Foot Road. US Route 2 at Kings Creek was
impassable due to major flooding. 12th Street and Kings Creek Road was
impassable due to major flooding. The crew was able to access this area via
Turkey Foot Road and stage at the Sun Valley Grocery Store. Rescue crews from
the Oakland District VFD, City of Weirton Police Department's ERT and Chester
VFD were already on scene. Chester VFD was attempting to rescue several
residents via hover craft but experienced difficulty due to the swift current.
They were able to rescue 5 residents before conditions made it near impossible
to run the craft or any other boat. One section of the estates could only have
been accessed by taking a direct path via water craft through the creek. It was
decided that it was not safe to attempt a rescue through the creek. Sergeants
Rick Sted, Bruce Marshall and Joel Shriner attempted to use a SWAT van to rescue
residents by driving as far as possible through the water. At one point, the
swift water rocked the vehicle from side to side. The plan was terminated for
safety reasons. Another attempt was made to reach victims by walking through
back yards on foot. Mudrick, Williams and Lieutenants Bill Hoit, Dan Riddle and
Tony Hardy began to walk towards victims when the current seemed to
increase. Mudrick and Hoit were almost swept away in the current. Mudrick was
able to regain his footing while Hoit clung to a tree. A rope was thrown to Hoit
and he was pulled into safety. Rescue personnel returned to staging to formalize
a plan in which to rescue victims. At 9:55PM, personnel were advised that Turkey
Foot Road was showing signs that a major mudslide was about to occur. If it was
to occur, personnel would become trapped in Sun Valley with no way to escape if
the water continued to rise. Rescue crews decided to evacuate Sun Valley and
Cove Valley Estates and return to Oakland District VFD's station and establish a
rescue plan. It was decided to attempt evacuation by air using a National Guard
Helicopter. City of Weirton OES director Mark Lowe summoned the assistance of
the National Guard at 10:30PM. Preparations for helicopter evacuation was under
way when at approximately 11:15PM the rain quit. Within a 30 minutes, the water
in Cove Valley began to recede and by 12:30AM, residents were out of danger. The
helicopter was cancelled.
At 01:30AM Engine 408 on loan from International Steel
Group of Weirton and under the command of Lieutenant Bob Hinchee successfully
rescued a man who had been trapped atop his vehicle for several hours in the
Kings Creek Area. Fire and rescue teams continued to work throughout the night
making sure that residents were safe and removing water from structures.
We would like to thank Dave Krensavage for the use of his
Jet-Ski. While the department does have in its fleet a Jet-Ski water craft,
personnel were stretched all across the City. We were not able at the time to
respond our ski to any area of the City. This average every day Citizen came to
the aid of his neighbors. Without his help, the family of three that were
rescued may have met their demise.
A large number of City residents assisted with the rescue
and evacuation of many victims. We were lucky to have no fatalities in this
disaster.
Many residents became displaced due to the wrath of IVAN.
Together, we prevailed showing a true community spirit of strength, commitment
and assistance to our neighbors in this time of need.
Many areas of the City experienced major flooding and
destruction.
We will clean up, we will rebuild, we will prevail and we will prepare for
the next time. Let's pray that the next time, Mother Nature will be more
forgiving!
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