4 Baltimore County Rescue Workers Join Harvey Response In Texas

TOWSON, MD - Four Baltimore County firefighters are in Texas helping those affected by Hurricane Harvey, county officials reported on Monday.

The floods that have trapped residents on rooftops and killed at least five are “beyond anything” recorded in history, according to the National Weather Service. In fact, weather officials said they needed to create new colors on their rainfall charts to show areas where up to 40 inches of rain have fallen in some parts of Texas.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday activated the National Guard to assist with the response to the weather event, which was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm after winds subsided Friday.

Members of the Baltimore County Fire Department went by bus and by plane to help.

Rescue specialist Lt. Byron Welker and hazmat specialist Fire Apparatus Driver Operator Steve Yealdhall, usually assigned to the Texas station of the Baltimore County Fire Department in Cockeysville, will stage outside Fort Worth, Texas. They are part of FEMA's Task Force #1, a group of specially trained first responders based in Philadelphia. In recent years, members of the Baltimore County Fire Department on the task force have helped with disasters including Hurricane Katrina and 9/11.

"We don't know what role our personnel will be asked to play in Texas," Baltimore County Fire Chief Kyrle W. Preis III said in a statement. "We do know that they are committed and willing to do whatever they're asked to do."

Over 30,000 People Might Need Shelter After Harvey

Baltimore County EMS Lieutenants Kevin Palmer and Rick Blubaugh flew on Friday to Dallas, Texas, as part of another group. Both are certified paramedics who serve on the Maryland 1-Disaster Medical Assistance Team, which provides medical care when health systems are overwhelmed by disaster victims.

Said Preis: " Our job is to make people with the needed skills available when disasters like this occur."

The Maryland Emergency Management Agency said on Monday that Maryland was one of nine states sending groups to assist with Hurricane Harvey.

Those who would like to help may donate through the American Red Cross to Harvey rescue efforts.

Top image: A resident walks down a flooded street in the upscale River Oaks neighborhood after it was inundated with water from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 27 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.