‘Non-stop go, go, go’: Snohomish firefighter describes intense flood rescue efforts

Rescue efforts have been ongoing across several parts of Washington over the past week due to severe flooding, including seven rivers reaching Flood Phase 4, the highest and most dangerous warning phase.

Brandon Huber, a firefighter with Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue, shared his point of view as a first responder in the midst of the floods in Snohomish.

“It’s been busy to put it shortly. We started Sunday evening up in the Sultan, Gold Bar area. Just as the water worked its way down the valley into Monroe and Snohomish. It was kind of just non-stop go, go, go,” Huber told “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “Our teams were prepared for this, and our departments have supported us really well. We had the equipment and everything we needed, and it went pretty good.”

Huber revealed the enhanced training methods that the department uses to prepare for emergency events such as the flooding last week. The training methods and special equipment make an immense impact on saving the lives of anyone who falls victim to a natural disaster.

“We’re kind of one of the training hubs for swift water rescue. A couple of times a year, we do annual training with the neighboring departments. A lot of training is at our station and neighboring jurisdictions,” Huber said. “About a month and a half ago, we did a simulated nighttime flood drill where we set GPS coordinates that would be potential patients. We had to go out in the dark with night vision and our GPSs and find these patients.

“With flood waters, there are lots of hazards that we can’t see underneath the water, or even downstream from us, depending on where the current’s flowing,” he continued. “If we lose our footing or something like that, who knows what we’re going to get washed into downstream.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.