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HIGH POINT, N.C. -
City firefighters had an emergency of their own Monday. The department's Elm St. headquarters were underwater as a result of heavy rains that fell across the area overnight Sunday and into Monday morning, and calls for help from the around the city were pouring in.
Crews pumped out 1,100 gallons of water a minute from the station, where water accumulated so rapidly it spread to neighbors. The water rolled into nine nearby apartments, displacing at least one family Monday night.
Monday's emergency wasn't the first time the High Point Fire Departments headquarters have been underwater, and it probably won't be the last. Firefighters say the station has flooded at least four times in the last two years.
"If we have rains for a half hour pretty heavy, we expect to have water damage in the basement," said Chief David Taylor. "You can see from this watermark, the water got about 15 to 18 inches deep."
Storm water coming too fast for storm drains to handle was the culprit Monday, which water water came from both directions, flooding Elm St. and Grimes St.
"Using a hard suction hose, we drafted water from this location and pumped it across the street," explained Taylor. The water left no significant damage at the station.
As firefighters worked to save their own house, half a dozen emergency calls came in, including from next door. Nine apartments near the fire station were also underwater, mostly filled with refugees sponsored to enter the country by the nonprofit World Relief.
The owner of the apartments, Bonnie Clark, spent the day trying to dry out the residences, but one remains unlivable.
Crews said it will take a week to get things back to the way they were at the fire station. At the apartments next door, cleanup could take longer.
Crews pumped out 1,100 gallons of water a minute from the station, where water accumulated so rapidly it spread to neighbors. The water rolled into nine nearby apartments, displacing at least one family Monday night.
Monday's emergency wasn't the first time the High Point Fire Departments headquarters have been underwater, and it probably won't be the last. Firefighters say the station has flooded at least four times in the last two years.
"If we have rains for a half hour pretty heavy, we expect to have water damage in the basement," said Chief David Taylor. "You can see from this watermark, the water got about 15 to 18 inches deep."
Storm water coming too fast for storm drains to handle was the culprit Monday, which water water came from both directions, flooding Elm St. and Grimes St.
"Using a hard suction hose, we drafted water from this location and pumped it across the street," explained Taylor. The water left no significant damage at the station.
As firefighters worked to save their own house, half a dozen emergency calls came in, including from next door. Nine apartments near the fire station were also underwater, mostly filled with refugees sponsored to enter the country by the nonprofit World Relief.
The owner of the apartments, Bonnie Clark, spent the day trying to dry out the residences, but one remains unlivable.
Crews said it will take a week to get things back to the way they were at the fire station. At the apartments next door, cleanup could take longer.
