First responders continued to help even as their own homes were flooding during Harvey

KATY, Texas – While others run from danger, first responders run toward it, and it was no different during Tropical Storm Harvey.

More than 200 firefighters and emergency medical services crews at Harris County Emergency Service District 48 worked tirelessly to evacuate people form flooded homes, while some of their homes flooded, too.

“It was heartwarming to see that these men and women continued serving the public even though they knew that some of their own possessions were floating away,” said Simon VanDyk, public information officer for Harris County ESD No. 48.

The community has set up a You Caring site to help raise $20,000 for the 16 firefighters whose homes flooded.

“Once the waters receded and these guys started going back home, we started ... finding out that there were more and more people impacted and so we have some folks staying with other members of our team while their houses are being repaired,” VanDyk said.

Not everyone is full time, including Lt. Tom Hurley, who used to be a corporate lawyer at BP and retired a couple years ago.

His son was a firefighter at Harris County ESD 48, so Hurley wanted to spend his time volunteering there, too.

He’s a Lieutenant of the Rehab Group, which is basically like a tailgate for firefighters. Hurley helps run the truck, which supplies water, food and even a restroom for firefighters during a call.

But his role changed during Tropical Storm Harvey as he passed out items, including blankets, to evacuees.

“I was actually at home on Monday watching the high water rise rapidly in our neighborhood,” said Hurley who lives less than five minutes from the fire station. “It got over its banks and I decided I would evacuate at that point and actually came to the station here because I figured this would be a higher point. Shortly after getting here, we were actually called out."

The Harris County ESD district goes from Clay Road all the way to Katy-Fort Bend, which happened to be the most impacted areas since those homes are on the back side of the Barker Reservoir.

“The firefighters were bringing boats, escorting people out and also had higher clearance trucks that they were using and they would bring them to higher ground,” Hurley said. “We would basically give those evacuees water, Gatorade and blankets. A lot of them came out completely drenched carrying one bag of belongings and we would basically try to comfort them at that point."

Full-time firefighters put in 144 hours that week, according to VanDyk, and 2,600 homes were flooded in their district, including Hurley’s.

“I was working and my husband called to tell me that we were flooding and I was like, 'I can’t talk right now.’ He was like, ‘Well you have to talk right now; the house is flooding,'” said Hurley’s wife, Marianne.

She's a regional nurse leader for the American Red Cross for the Texas Gulf Coast Region and was helping out at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

The couple said that only eight homes in Kelliwood Lakes flooded, including theirs. They had several inches of water in their home, which had never happened before.

“Once we were able to get out here, we had to wade in the water and it was knee deep, the street was probably five feet up,” Marianne said. “It was pretty devastating, it’s really hard to see all your possessions go out the door and a mess around you in the house, but we are still much more fortunate than others."

The Hurleys have opted out of the fundraiser because they have flood insurance and said other firefighters and their families need the funds.

“For the people who don’t have insurance, it would be a major help for them, a lot of hurting people out there,” Marianne said. “We’re actually very fortunate compared to a lot of people who had five feet of water in their homes with no insurance ... a lot of hurting people out there.”

Download the Click2Houston news app in your app store to stay up-to-date with the latest news while you're on the go.

Sign up for KPRC 2 newsletters to get breaking news, sports, entertainment, contests and more delivered straight to your email inbox.