VHS alumni, firefighters join rescue efforts after Harvey, Irma

September 19, 2017 1:30 am
Central Pierce Fire Rescue firefighters and members of VHS’ class of 1997 Josh Farris (second from left) and Andy Moe (third from left) with other members of the Central Pierce Fire Rescue department in Texas. (Courtesy Photo)
Central Pierce Fire Rescue firefighters and members of VHS’ class of 1997 Josh Farris (second from left) and Andy Moe (third from left) with other members of the Central Pierce Fire Rescue department in Texas. (Courtesy Photo)

Central Pierce Fire &Rescue firefighter and Vashon High School alumnus Andy Moe said the effects of Hurricane Harvey are devastating, even for him, and he deals with distressing situations on a daily basis.

“I’ve seen some bad stuff and that’s kind of what we do as firefighters, but this was overwhelming — having this entire city underwater,” he said about his time in Houston as a member of Washington Task Force One, the only FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team in the state. “Problems I see on daily basis are minor compared to this. It was so widespread, nothing was easy.”

Harvey touched down in Texas on Aug. 25 as a Category 4 hurricane and hung around southeast Texas for days, dumping between 40 and 52 inches of rain in five days. There were 70 confirmed fatalities, and damage is estimated between $70 and $108 billion, according to The New York Times.

Moe and fellow Central Piece firefighter and VHS class of 1979 alumnus Josh Farris are both members of Task Force One and trained in search and rescue techniques. They got called up to head to Texas Aug. 27 and spent nearly two weeks with 15 other Washington water rescue specialists searching flooded areas.

“We didn’t know we were going until Sunday (Aug. 27). I had four hours to prepare; it was really fast,” Moe said. “There were 17 of us that went down for water rescue only. We were sent with boats and our own gear.”

He said that by the time they got to some of the hardest-hit areas, many people had self-evacuated or wanted to stay and they did not need to rescue anyone.

They returned to Washington Sept. 8, and while Moe headed out on a road trip with his wife and daughter, Farris got called up again, this time to be part of the full 80-person task force to help with the effects of Hurricane Irma. He arrived in Georgia at the beginning of last week and witnessed the weakening hurricane as it passed over the state. Reached last Thursday, he said he and the force have been staged, trained and are ready to mobilize when needed.

“Part of FEMA is being ready to help,” he said. “We’ve been staging, so we’re one of four task forces that is ready to move forward when the current task forces are overworked or done with their missions.”

He said the task force has not been told where they will be going or how long they will remain in the area.

“We’re prepared to do anything they ask to assist local agencies,” Farris said. “Hopefully we can do some good down here.”