Posted: 9/11/07
Brownsville firemen recall the events of August 19 flash floods
 Brownsville Fire Chief Gary Meiners |
By Tom Murphy
Special for the Argus
"Fall back! Fall back!" came the order from a leader of the fire and rescue team heading to help a Brownsville family from a house that had been swept down the hill by a mud slide. It was early Sunday, Aug. 19, and a team of firemen and first responders from Brownsville and Caledonia were wading through a 15 foot wide stream of ëpudding-likeí mud in pitch black darkness in the driving rain to reach the family. The mud was so thick it was sucking the boots off the firemen.
"We had to think of the safety of our crew," Brownsville Assistant Fire Chief Richard Cordes recalled. "We had reports of people screaming for help. On our way up the hill, we could hear snapping and popping in the trees above us. There was real concern we could get caught in another mudslide. We had to wait until daylight to make another try," he said.
His initial reaction to the decision was "just like a punch in the gut, but we had to think about the safety of our people." Cordes recalled his training that cautions against getting ëtunnel vision and not looking at the big picture.í
The family did manage to reach a neighborís house. It took a chain of rescue people to help the family to safety. Most seriously hurt was Scott Woodard who suffered a head wound. Mud covered Woodardís head wound which could have proved fatal had the mud not acted as a sealant. Rescuers took the family to the Brownsville Fire Station and then to the Community Center. They were transported to Spring Grove and then transferred to the Decorah hospital.
The worst damage in Brownsville occurred in the two mile stretch south from Ten Bluffs Drive to Partingtonsí home on North Second Street, which was still closed as of Monday of this week. Extensive mud slides forced authorities to close Highway 26 before midnight. Just five to six miles away, the state record for rain fall in a 24 hour period was set that night in Butterfield Valley.
Cordes and Brownsville Fire Chief Gary Meiners sat down over this past weekend and shared some of their memories. Meiners remarked how his wife, Maureen, had been taking pictures of a beautiful sunset on Friday night, August 17. Both men attended the Houston County Fair on Saturday and remembered the steady rain.
They were unaware that within a few hours all of their training and experience in rescue and response would come into play.
At 9:30 p.m., the Brownsville Fire Department was called out to go to Wildcat Park to ask people to consider evacuating the park because Wildcat Creek was flooding. Then they were called to Hamilton Street where water was over the road. They closed the road and both men noticed it was now raining even harder.
It was at that time they were asked to close Highway 26 as there were reports of more and more mudslides on the highway. Cordes positioned himself on the highway to re-direct traffic.
At 11:30 p.m., there was a report of four people in the creek. But they had driven into a mudslide on Highway 26.
The report of the Partington house being demolished by a mudslide came in at 12:30 a.m While that rescue was going on, where, miraculously no one was injured, a truck was set up on Highway 26 to block the road. The Partington site was still being removed from Second Street over the weekend. The house was smashed into small pieces. The firemen remarked how small the largest pieces of wood were. Under the demolished house are mud, rocks, and trees.
"We need to get that road open in case there is another emergency," Meiners said of the urgent work over the past weekend.
The Brownsville team welcomed the arrival of Houston County Chief Deputy Scott Yeiter and other deputies. Yeiter coordinated the relief effort and Meiners implemented those directions.
They set up a command center at the Brownsville Community Center when three inches of water rushed through the Brownsville Fire Station. "The community center served its purpose that night," Meiners said. Cordes noted the community center also served as a triage unit and a shelter for the victims of the effects of the deluge of rain. "It was ideal," Cordes said of the facility.
The unitís radios became soaked and inoperable and the telephone land line service also went out. "We were lucky to have cell phones," Cordes said, "and we also had electrical power. So much could have gone wrong," he believes. Both men still marvel that people were able to crawl out of the crushed houses.
A total of 105 emergency personnel responded to help Brownsville, the rescue leaders said. "We had firemen and deputies from Caledonia, Spring Grove, Eitzen, Austin, and Mower County in Minnesota. We also had emergency people from Harpers Ferry, Waukon, and New Albin in Iowa," they recalled. "It was amazing to see all of them come to help us," Meiners said.
The arrival of these personnel helped authorities go door-to-door in Brownsville to check on the safety of the occupants of each house and assist in evacuation to the community center. They credited Yeiterís organization of three man teams to go door-to-door. They put a Brownsville emergency person on each team until they ran out of Brownsville people.
The buried LP tank at the Partington house began to leak and the hissing gas and odor warned of the danger. "It had been filled on Saturday and it took until sometime Sunday to empty," Meiners said. "We still have not found the empty tank. It is somewhere buried under the rubble."
Another story told was the miracle of how an 18 inch log pierced a home in Cordesí neighborhood and did not injure the homeís occupants. "It moved the house eight feet off its foundation. When everything came to rest, the front end of the log was sticking through the front window. The back bedrooms had been demolished. Doorways had been reduced to crawl spaces," Cordes said. On Sunday, there was news that a fourth home had been condemned in Brownsville.
Houston County Maintenance Supervisor Tom Molling arranged for the arrival of two county front end loaders and operators. Those units were credited with opening Highway 26. "They were in front of our rescue units and they pushed huge boulders, trees and mud off of the state highway," Meiners said.
When Hokah emergency people were unable to get to the Zibrowski house on County Road 7, it was a Brownsville-led team that rescued an elderly family member trapped in four feet of mud in the basement.
It was on County Road 7 that the most dramatic example of natureís fury was shown. A mud slide started about 1000 feet up the hill and reports were that by the time it reached County Road 7, it was the width of a football field.
Because of the blockages on the state highway, Brownsvilleís usual provider, Tri-State Ambulance was unable to reach the town. Instead, the ambulance services from Spring Grove and Caledonia responded. "Of course, the helicopters were not available because of the rain," Cordes observed. Tri-State Ambulance later stationed a unit in Brownsville for several days.
Meiners and Cordes credited their extensive training and twice monthly drills. "We just went by instinct. We also remind each other that these drills are good for us and the people we protect." They both commented about the ëstreak lightningí that occurred through much of the night.
"We didnít anticipate the arrival of so many people to help us," Cordes recalled. There were 31 Civil Air Patrol people who arrived on Monday and they were used to control the traffic of gawkers. A DNR crew showed up to cut limbs and trees. Mower County sent a backhoe and a dump truck the following Tuesday.
While the fire department leaders were coordinating those volunteers, they also went door to door again assessing damage to homes after yet another heavy rain.
There was a debriefing held last Wednesday in the county and Meiners and Cordes said it was a good opportunity for everyone to talk with each other about the emergency experiences in their towns.
"We learned that communication is a challenge and of utmost importance," Cordes said. Meiners said the county will likely acquire a mobile communications center as a result of the experience. Meiners said, "The sheriffís dispatcher needs to be praised for her work. She was so calm and she never missed a beat in her transmissions."
They also praised Houston County Emergency Services Coordinator Kurt Kuhlers. "He did an excellent job," Meiners said.
The response of the community was also impressive. "We had so many volunteers and people served and prepared tables and tables of hot dishes. It was more than anyone could eat."
They also talked of the work of Sharon Rohrer who had previous experience working with the Red Cross. "She set up our system of logging people in and logging people out of the shelter," Cordes said. "It was professionally done," he said of Rohrer. The Red Cross was initially cut off from reaching Brownsville because of blocked and flooded roads.
While FEMA is paying for debris removal, the fire department is hoping it will have its turnout gear replaced. "Itís still soggy and becoming moldy," Meiners said. They have been turned down by FEMA twice for a pumper truck. The current version is 45 years old. They also hope to have their rain soaked radios replaced.
The Brownsville Lions have been very supportive. $1500 was donated for purchase of the current radios. They also talked about the support for the thermal imaging camera. It is used on nearly every fire call in a variety of applications.
The Lions and the Eglinton family also purchased the cold water rescue suits.
The department could also use four more volunteers. It currently has 18 members. The departmentís big fundraiser is September 22. It will be a dance with a DJ and a lunch will be served.
"After an experience like this, you know you handled your response professionally, but you acutely realize the human element in this tragedy," Cordes said. "Mr. Partington was my teacher in high school and Mrs. Partington taught English to my daughter. Iíve seen the strength it takes to come back and see your home and then see its cleanup through"
"You just know all of the people involved," Meiners said. "You know what it takes for them to come back and stay here."
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