Disaster Recovery Solutions

Tim, Seth and I sat down in a cool coffee shop today just to catch up and tried to talk about something besides work and disasters. Our plan was to get some coffee, have a good dinner, and see a movie. But before we knew it reports starting coming in with multiple tornado warnings and watches. With one eye on the computer and the other on a map it was not long before we grabbed our bag,s started, the trucks, and headed out.

Just a few short hours later, as the sun was going down, we arrived in Newton County Missouri. After a few stops throughout the county we quickly realized that the worst hit area in Missouri was Racine. Upon arrival at the firehouse at 1:00 a.m. we were greeted by a small group of firemen and women. One fireman had blood all over his shirt. They explained that the search a rescue was called off because it was just too dark, with too many downed power lines, making it too dangerous. We waited with our equipment over the next few hours till the sun came up and as soon as 7:00 a.m. rolled around we headed up the debris filled streets. We unloaded the Cat Skid Steers to start the task of opening up roads and clearing driveways so that people could start getting to their homes while firefighters performed search and rescue in the homes surrounding us.

Many tears were shed today. One of the firefighters in this small close-knit community lost his life. Many storm survivors were grieved by the overwhelming loss of life. We experienced that grief with them.

Reports started to come in about a city only about 45 minutes from Racine MO—about a city that was totally destroyed from an F4 Tornado called Picher in Oklahoma. It is always a hard decision to decide where we should go next and when. We always look at the size of the destruction, but also give consideration to where our equipment is needed most. We base this on what resources the community has or does not have to help themselves.

As volunteers began to pour into Racin MO, and all the main roads were opened, we decided to head to Picher Oklahoma, where no one was even allowed to get into the city as of ye,t because the destruction was so great that search and rescue was still being performed alone.

We arrived Sunday morning and within 30 minutes we were greeted by a fire department director and excorted into the disaster area.

Time for a break. We are headed to Springfield MO. It’s the largest city near by, centrally located, and because of its location, I think it will be a great place for us to stay until we respond to the next disaster. A local real estate investor, Dawn Braham, offered us a home to stay in free of charge. It will be nice for the men to stay in a home—nice for me too. The hotels, churches, cabs of trucks and community centers are the norm, and we just a place with the comforts of home to take a needed a break. I hope we have a week or two off so that we can get some work done on the equipment and some rest.

We’re looking forward to this.

We thought we were up for a break….but at 4 a.m. weather reports indicated countless tornados had touched down all throughout Arkansas.  There were so many touchdowns that for the next two hours all our team could do was study reports trying to determine which areas were hit the worst.

We determined that the two worst hit areas were the towns Center Ridge and Damascus. We arrived in Center Ridge by 12:30, but quickly learned that the tornado damage was much worse just 30 minutes east at Damascus. Upon arrival, the devastation was grave. Many had died that morning and the atmosphere was somber. We began to unload our equipment when I received a call.

On the other line was a man who presented himself as the Director of Emergency Management for a small town in Missouri called Ava. He explained that there was a nursing home with 70 residents who recently took in 16 more patients from an elder care facility, and they were in desperate need of power. The tornado that touched down in Ava cut off power for at least three days and these 86 residents were in desperate need of power for their medical instruments.

While standing in a pile of rubble in Damascus AR, Tim, Seth and I realized what we had to do. It was more important for us to respond to the medical life saving needs in MO than it was to help open up roads and remove debris in Damascus. In Damascus there was no threat of loss of life anymore, but in Ava there was still that possibility.

Earlier in 2008, we added a 230KW multi output generator to our fleet specifically for the purpose of powering up hospitals, nursing homes, and other emergency and governmental buildings. At this point I’m glad we did. Just a few short hours later we arrived at the nursing home. The facility property manager, Steve Wilkerson, and his wife, Angie, greeted us. Over the next few days we were able to get to know Steve and the staff at the nursing home. We came to fulfill a need but in turn met some wonderful new friends.

Des Arc, Arkansas is only 4 hours south of Norfork. Des Arc was our first stop with the rescue boat when the floods began 4 weeks ago. But for some reason the floodwaters of Des Arc did not recede much; the way the land lays the water stayed put. When the rivers rose a second time, it only brought higher waters. Today, floodwaters finally began to recede.

We arrived late—very late—last night.

One of our first stops early this morning was a mobile home community park. Here, floodwaters had receded about 60 percent, providing accessibility to many homes for the first time. After 4 weeks, mobile homes full of furniture, food, and personal belongs not only smelt terrible, but each item was extremely heavy, waterlogged, and molded from constant contact with water which created a task too big for most people to handle when it comes to cleanup.

We brought our equipment into four communities throughout Des Arc. So many of the residents at the mobile home park expressed unwavering gratitude for our help. They literally said, “We have no clue what we would have done if you had come; our belonging would have stayed here for months in all these homes.”

After a few days of work our job was done is Des Ark. We removed all the flood debris from homes where the water receded. That night we went out to dinner with Sandra, the Director of Emergency Management, and the Judge of Des Arc. The restaurant was on an old riverboat placed along side the river. It was a great time for my men and myself as we met so many people in the community. Everyone was so thankful for us being there.

We have decided to head back to Norfork, AR. It’s been only two weeks since we finished cleaning up flood debris from almost 100 homes, and now, two short weeks later, these homes flooded again—this time flooding was worse than before. Reports indicate the water rose two feet higher, causing even more damage.

Before we left two weeks ago, the First Response Team and Norfork Fire Department went out to dinner. We bonded quickly through all the hard work we did together helping people in the community, so when Norfork flooded again there was no question in our mind that we should return to help.

It was strange to go back to so many of the same faces and houses again. But this time instead of removing wet rugs, furniture and personal belongings, it was new sheetrock insulation and furniture destroyed by the floods. It was sad to see the progress made in the two previous weeks destroyed. The tired disillusionment of the impacted families was obvious and impacting.

I hope we were able to help a smile to some of the people’s faces. There is not much to say in times like these.

It was a long night. The massive nature of the statewide flooding in Arkansas had the Army Corp of Engineers poised to make the difficult decision to open the floodgates of two dams—two dams upriver from us in Norfork. It was a dire and stressful situation because, once opened, this town would be destroyed and people facing mandatory evacuation would only have one hour to get out of harms way. Along with the anticipation of potential flooding from the dams opening, there were torrential downpours, lightning and tornadoes.

Just two hours south, Little Rock AR was suffering severe damage by tornados, but our First Response Team had to stay in Norfork to not only help with the potential and imminent evacuation but also with the many home needing debris cleaned up.

We met the fire chief at the firehouse by 4:45 a.m. There were no incoming phone calls from the 911 Coordinator or the Army Corp, so by 9:00 a.m. we made a few phone calls and confirmed that the high alert threat was over. The threat of potential floods waters destroying the community for a second time was over. This was a huge relief considering that this small community was severely damaged just two weeks earlier.

At this point many of the citizens were visiting the firehouse—curiously intrigued by the Black Max grapple truck and hovercraft, which were an odd sight to see in this small rural town. Once the citizens of Norfolk heard that we were here to help remove all the furniture, sheetrock, and various debris from the 80 plus homes they were so happy. We got to work immediately and within 2 days we were able to clean up all 80 homes. Even I was surprised at how fast we were able to get these neighborhoods cleaned up. Baxter County sent out 14 local dump trucks that Tim Wolkowicz was able to load. One after the other, Tim loaded each truck only taking a few minutes each.

It didn’t take long to grow close to this community. So many people came out and talked with us and the local heroes—their firemen. I was so blessed by the fire department in Norfolk. It was evident by their actions how they really cared about their citizens. They had already worked tirelessly for weeks after the first flood, by removing all the household goods and sheetrock, and by piling it outside by the roadside. They had pumped 97,000 gallons of water through the houses washing the mud out.

At the perfect time, Disaster Recovery Solutions First Response Team came to do a job that needed special equipment that this county was without. Debris had begun to smell so bad through the neighborhoods it was becoming a health hazard and many wells began to test positive for e coli.

Exhausted by the enormity of the work we collectively completed, Saturday night we all went out for a big steak dinner. To express his sincere gratitude, one of the homeowners whose houses we cleaned up gave 1,000 dollars for the first responders to eat out. As Tim and I stood in the parking lot that night, and it was time to say goodbye to the fire chief and his team of heroes, we began to realize how quickly we’d grown to be part of this family. I never thought hugs would be in order with this group, but obviously it was. I never imagined that a bond of brotherhood could develop in such a short period of time, and that we could develop such a close bond with new friends. But than again, not much surprises me now days.

I’m glad we were able to help Norfolk AR. I’m confident that we will all meet again someday. I’m thankful for our new friends.

Life is funny sometimes. You never know what is around the next curve. It’s like exploring an old abandoned house. As you peak through the door of the next room, you never know what you’ll find.

I recall a story I read once from an old, dusty book. I’m not sure who the author was but it read, “wide is the road to destruction, narrow is the road to life.”  That could mean so many things to so many different readers, but to me it meant life can be found from the road that is harder to take, the one with more risks, the one that is more difficult—the road less taken.

I was always a risk-taker, constantly venturing off into the abyss of the unknown, but always with some safety nets. As daring as I felt, I never fully crossed the threshold of being who I wanted to be and truly doing what I wanted to do. Basically, I stuck my head into the unknown just enough to take a peak. For years I took the wide road of working hard, building businesses, having the American dream, but every morning I was waking up with a knowing in my gut that there was something more—something with more meaning than financial prosperity. It was a longing to do something that in some strange sense would last forever. I’m not saying I have arrived. I’m not sure if I ever will. But, I hope I never loose the passion to live a life worth living,to be a part of something so much greater than myself, to invest in funds that never loose there value…a Wall Street in the clouds if I could be so dreamy.

So here I sit, on this wood floor, in an old ballroom in the hills of Arkansas. The only place for me to spend a few hours and get out of the rain is this community center in a small town called Norfork. This cold room looks just like those used in the old black and white movies where a small town would gather on a Friday night for a community dance: just one big room with a wooden floor and two bathrooms. I came to this small city to do something so simple, to remove everything from one hundred homes that were destroyed by the floods two weeks ago. It’s become a routine and simple task for us to remove rugs, furniture, cars, and mud.  It would just take a few days with my specialized equipment, where it would take this small city a month.

But it looks like there might be more to do than this.

The man of the hour in Norfork is Fire Chief Frankie Baker. First impressions mark him as humble and reserved, but when the pressure rises, Chief Baker exudes a remarkably bold confidence. It is easy to see how his volunteers trust him—they would follow him into any burning home. His firehouse is in order, but his task at hand is great. I was introduced to him because he is the one in charge of the cleanup of the flood disaster debris. After touring the community, I sat with him and his crew in the firehouse presenting and explaining the best plan of action for a complete cleanup of debris, lifting the spirits of all as cleanup begins. While laying out the strategic plan, into the room walks 911 Director Tom Fisher, who is second in command to the county judge. The mood in the room changed rapidly as he began outlined new weather-related developments.

Just north of the small city are two dams. Norfork Dam is holding back 500 miles of shore, and Bulscholds Dam holds back another 800 miles of shore. Tom explained, “The water is at the floodgates gentlemen. We are expected to get 4-6 inches of rain in the next two days, but if we just get two of those inches the dams will not be able to withstand the pressure, and the floodgates will need to be let open. Norfork will experience flooding worse than what just came through. The Army Corp of Engineers will alert us when two inches of water comes, and will only be able to provide our city one hour to evacuate. After that…it will be too late.”

We all agreed he best thing to do was to go to all the communities along the river and inform them of what is happening. One house after the other, like a broken record…”gather your belongings, jewelry, titles, valuables, get them in your car and get out. If you don’t get out now and if the rains come and the dams open like the Corp says, then will you will only have one hour to evacuate after we give the last warning. And, if you don’t evacuate, we will take you by force.”

The first few houses went okay. One gentleman who was so old and fragile said, “Can you help me get some of my things to higher ground? I’m too week to get outside. It’s so cold, and I’m not well.” When the fire chief and I got to the fourth house we were invited into the hallway—the wallpaper recalling the 1970”s—and while standing in the dim light, we warned the aged grandmother of the of the potential flood waters. All she could say while I was explaining was, “Oh no. Oh my, no.” As the door closed behind me I could hear her crying loudly. For a split second I wondered what it would be like to have a place I called home for 45 years, and the thought of all I had, and had ever held close potentially being destroyed. I could only imagine, and then my mind got caught up again in the job at hand.

All of my equipment is here in Norfork. Fire Chief Frankie, and his men and women, are glad we are here to help. If the warning turns into reality we will deploy our hovercraft into the river to warn all the adjacent homes that the final evacuation must take place. Since there will only be one final hour and four small cities exists along the river that need to be warned, traveling upstream toward the dams will be our best and fastest method. Cells phones do not work well here, and there is no guarantee of power lines and landline phones working. The fire chief says the river will be fastest route. I hooked the hovercraft to Chief Frankie’s four-wheel drive truck. If this event takes place the roads will wash out. Those who do not make it out of their neighborhoods due to washed out roads will need to be rescued.

One of my dear friends told me a beautiful story a few days ago. He was putting his 3-year-old daughter to sleep, and just when she could hardly keep her eyes open she said, “I love you daddy,” and softly drifted to sleep as her beautiful little face rested against his neck. He said, “Tad, words cannot explain how special that moment meant to me, it will stay in my heart for an eternity. And someday, you and your men will save lives, so that some dad can experience one of the most special moments in his life just as I did that night…and that one life will make everything you do worth it.”

I don’t pray as often as I should, but I pray that all of these men and woman, young and old, will find their way home again, safe with renewed strength to begin again. May we always have strength to persevere in life. To endure the challenges, but even more so, to look forward to those moments when you can say to yourself…”it’s good to be alive.” Someday again soon, the sun will rise on this small town, and the skies will be so blue and beautiful. It’s right around the corner, I just know it.

It was two weeks ago now when the flooding started. I was in Houston, Texas preparing to meet with the Mayor of Houston when my cell phone rang alerting me to the floods threatening so much of the Midwest.

We had already been working with a specialized company in Eau Claire, MI who would design us a specialized Hovercraft for water rescues. I called Hovertechnics and they agreed to have the boat ready within 24 hours. This special boat has the ability to hover off the ground allowing us to go up raging rivers, travel safely across iced-over lakes, patrol and perform rescues in flooded downtown communities reaching those trapped in their homes. Boat ramps are a missing luxury in floodwaters, to compensate for this undeniable challenge the hovercraft will be able to float over asphalt roads, gravel, and grassy fields. We spent months consulting with some of the New York’s best fire chiefs and thanks to Steve Lebretto, Mattituck NY Fire Chief, and Captain Joseph Frohnhoefer, President of Sea Tow International, we were able to strategize on the best unit to perform water rescues in many unknown conditions in the unpredictable Disaster Zones of the United States.

I cannot count the number of nights we have not slept for the past few weeks. We have covered so many states and communities that it seems like a blur. All that we can think of now is a small city in Arkansas called Clarendon and the surrounding Monroe County.

We arrived in Clarendon to learn that the town geographically is a soup bowl surrounded by raging rivers and lakes with nothing to hold back the “sea of terror” but a dirt wall. In many aspects it reminds me of New Orleans. The small rural town is lower than the surrounding waters, but kept dry through engineered levees. If a small muskrat decided to dig a whole 2 inches big, within 10 minutes the city would be under water.

If you were to look at a map you would find the rivers Cash and White funneling directly into the city. As I stand on the wall of dirt, I can see below me this quaint small town American town, the schools are getting out and the kids are riding their bikes down Main Street, but behind me is a river that is already 6.4 feet above flood stage. In 1973, a flood destroyed this town when the river rose to 35 feet. Presently the river is at 32.4 feet.

This afternoon the Pathfinders sat down with County Judge Larry Morris and Allen James, the president of the Levee Board. Judge Larry was openly nervous about what could happen to this community over the next three days as the rivers continued to crest, and explained that 6 other housing communities were already under water in the county. Time stood still for just a moment in this old catfish diner. Here I was in this small restaurant. The walls were full of pictures from local fishermen proudly displaying their prize catfish, and with the large store front glass windows, you could see Main Street folks carrying on with their daily small town lives.

I asked the judge questions for the next 45-minutes and then presented a disaster preparedness plan for the city and county. I explained that in the belly of the Black Max were motocross bikes, which the Pathfinders use to scout the outskirts of disaster areas looking for those in need of rescue. We can equip the bikes with GPS coordinators, short wave GMRS radios and satellite phones. The Pathfinders will begin a 24-hour surveillance of the 6.2-mile levee, alerting the city to evacuate at the first sign of a break.

Secondly, from the diner I called a company called Barko Pumps Based out of IL, TX and LA. The president immediately extended help and joined the Pathfinders in the effort to save the city. He agreed to send out pumps able to handle up to 1800 gallons of water and trash per minutes, free of charge to the Pathfinders. The Pathfinders will position these water pumps so that if the Levee is breached we will begin pumping immediately.

Next, we had to address water rescues. Neither the city nor the county are prepared with any equipment to handle water rescues. The county judge recommended I meet the sheriff, who rerouted 911 water rescue calls to the Pathfinders. Sheriff Barry Henard and Byrl Shaw the Officer of Emergency Services and a former Lieutenant Colonel in the military welcomed the Pathfinders and expressed thankfulness for us being here with them through this difficult time.

There are presently 6 housing communities under water in which we have already toured—the homes are all empty. We will continue to monitor these communities incase homeowners try to access their flooded property where they could potentially get swept away in the river. We will also be working with Sheriff Barry to monitor the waterways and patrol for looters trying to access the flooded homes to rob them of citizen’s personal belongings.

The atmosphere is full of so many emotions. There has been great loss already in the county of Monroe, but there is also a sense of fear and anxiety in the air. We are here and we are not going anywhere. We are here to help, and we can help.

Looking at the reports online indicated that 200 homes and 40 businesses were affected by another tornado. There was no indication whether the storm caused total destruction or whether the houses were just left some minimal damage. The reports were inconclusive, but from what we could gather, we decided it would be best for us to respond.

We arrived in Prattville, Alabama 8 hours later. The city was somewhat in a daze. Traffic was everywhere and there was no heavy equipment brought in to help. The federal government provided no aid and the National Guard came with no equipment, just volunteers. We were the only one that came with equipment to clean up the streets and neighborhoods. Within 30 minutes of my arrival I met the local leaders who were in charge. Edward Clinton who was the Director of Solid Waste for Prattville welcomed us into the city, and within no time Disaster Recovery Solutions was working side-by-side with all the city workers and their limited equipment.

After meeting with the Mayor, we put a plan together that would speed up the process of opening up the roads and cleaning up the homes for the citizens of Prattville, which would also boost their wavering moral. I recommended that the city provide me with as many dump trucks that were available to them from within there organization as well as surrounding counties. Within hours the Black Max operated by Tim Wolkowicz was loading dump truck after dump truck for the city free of charge. The Black Max Grapple Truck dwarfed everything there and the citizens were coming from everywhere wondering what all the commotion was. So many expressed their thanks as we went from house to house cleaning up what was left of there homes.

One week later a man came up to me and Edward Clinton. As he was walking up I noticed he was a sophisticated looking man from his demeanor and dress. Standing before us his lip began to quiver. I knew he wanted to say something but because he was holding back his tears so hard nothing would come out. Finally the words came out of his mouth and with tears coming down his face he said, “that pile, that pile of my house, you cleaned it up for me, I cant tell you, you’ll never now how much that meant that you came and helped me, I feel like I can start again.” The man turned around immediately and walked back toward his truck, and at that point I was reminded once again why Disaster Recovery Solutions and Pathfinders exists.