Even the best of rescue teams can't save everyone. A June 2003 flooding event in Lancaster County, Pa., proved that for Ephrata Rescue, an independent provider of specialized rescue services.

After a night of heavy rain, significant flooding was occurring in the early morning. Ephrata Rescue's day began abruptly at 4:43 a.m. with a report of a possible vehicle in the water. A farmer who was preparing to milk his cows heard a loud splash near the bridge over the Conestoga River in West Earl Township. He reported seeing what he thought were vehicle tail lights disappearing in the water. As units were on the way, dispatch notified them that it had lost a connection with a cell-phone caller who reported being swept away in a vehicle.

Units arrived on the scene to find the normally docile 15-foot-wide river swollen to at least twice its size, with swiftmoving flood water and standing waves. Areas of the river had flooded up to 50 feet wide. Command was established by Farmersville Fire Company, and operations were directed by Ephrata Rescue. An additional water rescue team from the Lancaster Township Fire Department provided backup and assisted in operations.

Crews arrived and surveyed the area, determining the likelihood that the vehicle entered the water from a bridge where the water had flooded the road at the end of the bridge. Spotters upriver looked for debris in the water, and downstream spotters provided assistance to boat operation teams.

Members of eight companies participated in the search operation. Three boats searched the river, beginning at the suspected entry point, for signs of a vehicle or person in the water. Crews probed the water with 10-foot pike poles in an attempt to locate a submerged vehicle. They searched up to a half mile downstream and made multiple passes over virtually every inch of the river for several hours, finding no sign of a vehicle or its occupant.

The active search was suspended, but spotters remained in place through the day to observe as the water level dropped. After about 15 hours the water receded enough to reveal a vehicle about less than 100 feet downstream from the bridge. Tragically, the vehicle was occupied. A young man had lost his life trying to drive through the flooded area.

Response area

Ephrata is a small town of about 15,000 in northeastern Lancaster County, 12 miles north of Lancaster, the county's largest city. Part of south-central Pennsylvania, Lancaster County also is home to the nation's largest Amish population. Fire services in the county are 99% volunteer, with the 1% paid service being Lancaster City.

Ephrata emergency services consists of three companies: Ephrata Pioneer Fire Company delivers engine and ladder company operations; Lincoln Fire Company also handles engine company operations; and Ephrata Area Rescue Services Inc. fulfills rescue functions, with water rescue as its specialty.

Ephrata Rescue covers first-in rescue services over 20 square miles and five municipalities, but the coverage area for water incidents increases to about 60 square miles and 20 municipalities. All rescue calls are by mutual aid to the fire company having jurisdiction. Ephrata Rescue is composed of 48 members, 22 of whom are active operational members. Each member fills a role on the water rescue team. The unit currently has nine boat operators, with the remaining members of the team capable of providing support in both boat and shore-based operations.

Although the area doesn't have any large lakes or rivers, there are about a dozen small rivers and streams that are tributaries of the Susquehanna River 30 miles west of the region. At times these streams become powerful rivers filled with a multitude of hazards, so a majority of the calls for service relate to flooding. Call types range from stranded motorists and thrill-seekers to those swept away by currents.

Training requirements

As with most emergency response agencies, Ephrata Rescue's number-one concern is safety — safety of its crew, firefighters and victims in need of help. The team is one of only 13 in the state accredited as a Level I and II Emergency Boat Operations and Rescue Team by the Pennsylvania Water Rescue Instructor's Association.

Training and repetition is the key to producing a safety mindset. For example, all crew members are required to meet the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's water-rescue certification requirements within their first year. Phase I, water rescue and emergency response, provides basic training in rescue equipment, planning, medical considerations, and skills training in shore-based and self rescue techniques. Additional certifications to be achieved are Phase II, emergency boat operation and rescue, and Phase III, which consists of advanced line systems rescue as well as ice rescue and emergency response.

Training in basic and advanced skills is reviewed often to maintain a constant state of readiness. When the team trains on water emergency response, both operational skills and reading the situation are emphasized. Strong observational skills are reinforced in the context of situational size-up, scene continuity and interfacing with other agencies. The crew is given a scenario and pictures of moving water or video footage to set the scene. The crew then is drilled on its size-up and plan of operation for the scenario.

As often as water conditions allow, the team trains in moving water for proficiency under real-world conditions. This allows team members to read the water and feel its power, while recognizing their equipment's application and limitations in a given situation.

Funding & equipment

Ephrata Rescue went into service late in the 1950s, consisting initially of personnel who saw a need to perform rescue operations at vehicle accident scenes while equipped with only determination, hand tools and porta-powers.

In 1960, Pennsylvania rescue companies operated under the umbrella of county civil defense agencies, which allowed Ephrata Rescue to grow and become better equipped to perform at all types of rescues. In 1986 the state pulled the funding of civil defense rescue services. The company was incorporated as Ephrata Area Rescue Services Inc. and continued to provide independent rescue services, unaffiliated with any fire company or ambulance service.

Being an independent company makes funding a little more difficult. Pennsylvania law does not require municipalities to provide rescue or emergency medical services, and Ephrata Rescue receives little municipal funding. Most of the funding is provided by direct community involvement: Pledge drives, fund-raising efforts and grants are the primary means of support. The company doesn't currently bill for services, as most of the municipalities don't have ordinances to enforce collection.

The rescue company's equipment inventory and boat type are based on attributes of the coverage area. Because Ephrata Rescue expects to encounter swiftmoving water with limited entry points and no boat launch, the inflatable boat of choice is a non-rigid inflatable boat model. Boats must be self-bailing and have a minimum 20hp motor, multiple buoyancy chambers and a sturdy slated deck. Team members must be able to carry the boat whatever distance is required for deployment. Other equipment choices are related to line systems such as static lines, movable control points and shore-based equipment, including throw bags, ring buoys, inflatable hose devices and an assortment of ice rescue equipment. The company also has placed into service an Atlantis underwater camera as a result of the June 2003 incident.

Response modality follows the same pattern. Due to the size of the coverage area, a quick response is essential. The three-vehicle fleet consists of a Chevy Suburban, a heavy rescue and a light rescue that can tow the boats on a trailer. Most of the equipment also is housed on the light rescue, with the remaining attached to the boats or trailer.

During a response the first-arriving personnel meeting the ride requirement board the light rescue and respond with the trailer in tow. Additional arriving personnel bring either the heavy rescue or the Suburban in an incident support role. This allows the first-out piece a response within four minutes while retaining the ability to bring the rest of the team to the scene as they arrive. Equipment and service modality are reviewed continually to maintain the highest level of service possible for the community.

Better outcome

Lancaster County's most recent flooding was on March 2, when the area experienced about up to 1H inches of rain in 18 hours, on top of melting snow. Moderate flooding occurred to all the rivers and streams in the area, with specific locations receiving the majority of problems. Over eight hours, 10 calls for service came in from motorists stranded in high water as result of roadway flooding. All victims were successfully assisted to safety and no injuries were sustained.

One particular call reported an occupied van in high water. Dispatch relayed that the motorist was on the line reporting that the vehicle was beginning to move. The vehicle was estimated to have moved about six feet from its initial point of contact with the water. Unlike the incident four years earlier, however, first-arriving units were able to rescue the occupant.

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A 17-year veteran of the emergency services, Perry D. Kurtz is the chief of Ephrata Area Rescue Services Inc., where he has been a volunteer for 10 years. His past assignments have been lieutenant, captain and assistant chief. Kurtz also is a career firefighter/paramedic with West End Fire Company #3, Phoenixville, Pa.