10-04-2025
Members from NC Task Force 8 support flooding response efforts in Kentucky
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Families and communities continue to pick up following powerful storms and days of relentless rainfall across the South and Midwest.
States such as Kentucky remain devastated by widespread flooding, where 22 members of the North Carolina Search and Rescue Task Force 8 are focusing their attention.
'They're seeing historic flooding,' said Ben Mallard, a captain with the Raleigh Fire Department and leader of the task force. 'People thought they were safe in areas that they were in. Obviously, they were not, as water levels rose to nearly 50 feet here in Frankfort.
According to Mallard, the team left Saturday morning and have helped support with efforts in Frankfort and Carrollton. In the first two days, the task force helped rescue and evacuate about four dozen people and several animals.
'It's only later you start to absorb the activities of the day and work through those experiences, but we do a lot of training and we're prepared for what we're seeing,' he said.
Raleigh Fire Department Division Chief Patrick Marks said the team responded after they received a call from the North Carolina Emergency Management when they learned the state of Kentucky was seeking assistance.
In addition to working 12-hour shifts and providing rescue equipment and boats, Marks said, 'These personnel from every agency represented on our task force and our team are trained to a different level. In addition to being a firefighter, EMT, or paramedic on their workday, these people are also trained in swift water rescue, boat operations. They have specialty training in damage assessment and data collection.'
'We have people who are in leadership roles,' he said. 'We have people who specialize in communications, we have people who specialize in providing emergency medical care, but the core of the team is divided into rescue squads.'
The response comes just months after the team also responded in western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. While responding in the western part of the state, according to Marks, members of Task Force 8 worked 24 continuous days doing search operations across three counties.
'A disaster situation is exactly what you imagine,' he said. 'People's lives are up-ended and their lives are up-ended much longer after that initial response.
'Our team was delayed two hours getting to Kentucky because of Helene damage on Interstate 40,' he continued. 'The people in western North Carolina are still dealing with that.'
Marks said the team's goal is to provide as much assistance as they can to the state, while also ensuring the safety of their first responders. Their mission will likely shift as the floodwaters continue to move downstream.
'I think it's obvious we can't take them to the finish line, but I do think it's important we play our first initial response in that role to get the ball rolling, to relieve the load they're dealing with in that disaster so that other people can come in and play their part to get them back on their feet,' Marks said.
'I also think what makes these people special is the heart that they have,' he continued. 'This is a team people volunteer to participate on because they want to go and help.'
For Mallard, he said it comes down to being there to support others when it's needed, something he's witnessed times before.
'I grew up in eastern North Carolina and I saw resources come from all over the country,' Mallard said. 'I take a lot of pride knowing I can go out in these communities and help in their time of need.'
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