BCFD assists in Texas flood recovery

Boulder City Fire Department’s Asst. Chief Josh Barrone has seen a lot in his career, including the aftermath of natural disasters.

And while some are similar in nature, the outcome is always different and eye-opening.

Barrone, along with firefighter/paramedic Harold Hadley and reserve battalion chief Mike Porter and his cadaver dog, Morgan, joined other members of the Nevada Task Force 1 last month on a recovery mission following the devastating flooding in Texas.

The task force left Las Vegas on July 8 and arrived in San Antonio the next evening, a few days after the flooding along the Guadalupe River. That area is very popular for summer visitors, especially for July 4. The area was also home to Camp Mystic, which had hosted Christian girls for decades. It was reported that 27 from the camp perished.

“At that point we were on a recovery effort but searching the area as part of it,” he said.

Knowing they were there to recover deceased individuals can be seen as two-fold.

“You have to have perspective,” said Barrone, who was a member of the task force that assisted in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene last October. “If you only look at the negative it can be grim because you are searching for people no longer alive. The peace and the clarity come when we look at the whole picture and realize yeah, we won’t be able to find these people alive but we can bring closure to their families and give their loved ones back to them for burial and celebrate their lives.”

In all, at least 135 people were killed by the flooding. And while the number of missing nearly matched that, officials later determined that many were vacationers who had not notified anyone that they were safe. By the time that was cleared up, it was determined there were just three people left unaccounted for.

Barrone said memories of Hurricane Helene came to mind when he and the others arrived on the scene of the flooding.

“In certain aspects the two looked very similar,” he said. “But in other aspects it didn’t. Helene was in more of a rural area whereas this happened in more of a town setting. We were literally walking through people’s backyards or what was left of their home’s foundation to get down to the river. It felt more personal this time.”

Aside from searching for bodies, the task force’s mission was to delayer areas of debris, with some piles 20 feet high.

“I don’t know if you can ever really picture in your mind what to expect but it was pretty much what I thought it would be,” Barrone said upon arriving at the devastated areas. “But some areas were far worse than I had thought. The media had done a pretty good job of showing everything that had happened so it wasn’t really a total shock when I got there.”

While their units did not find any bodies, of the three still missing, they assisted in searching the areas where two were eventually found.

He said an average day was getting up before sunrise, eating breakfast and then being on scene around 6 a.m. and stopped around 2 p.m. The task force stayed in the high school gymnasium in the nearby town of Comfort, along with a crew from Indiana.

In all, Barrone said from the day they left to when they returned was 21 days.

“I’m proud of the team’s work,” he said. “We went with a mission and did it very well. We were able to help bring closure to a pair of families, which is the ultimate goal.”

BCFD cadaver dog brought in

Hadley was not available this week to talk about his experience in Texas but Porter, who was featured in the Review nearly two years ago after being sent to Maui following that island’s fires, said he was honored to have been asked to help in the Texas search efforts.

“My current partner, Morgan, will be 2 years old on Aug. 23, and this was her first federal deployment,” he said. “She stepped up to the challenge and worked hard every day, whether searching from a boat or walking through piles of debris. I’m really proud of her.

“Each deployment brings something new. This one was tough because of the size of the area and how much debris was spread around. But that’s part of what we train for. No matter how hard it is, we show up and do our best.”

Like Barrone, Porter said seeing the devastation of a natural disaster can be a bit overwhelming at first but then it’s time to get to work.

“We know we’re there to help,” he said. “Even if it’s a recovery mission, it gives us purpose. We’re there to help bring peace to families and the community. That’s what keeps us going every day.”

Porter added that his partner in Maui was Dexter, who were both photographed with President Joe Biden on the island. Dexter is still around but is now retired as a cadaver dog.

“He lives at home with us and spends his days lying by the pool or napping in his bed,” he said. “He’s earned it. Because of his age and physical limits, we knew it was time for him to move into family life instead of working in the field. He had a great career and now he’s living the good life.”