Oklahoma City Fire Department deploys additional crews to assist in Texas flooding

OKLAHOMA CITY –

The Oklahoma City Fire Department deployed additional personnel to Texas on Thursday to assist with ongoing response efforts following devastating flooding along the Guadalupe River Basin.

The six-member team, made up of five Oklahoma City firefighters and one Oklahoma City Police officer, departed from the Oklahoma City Fire Training Center after the State of Oklahoma received an additional request from Texas for emergency assistance. The deployment brings the total number of Oklahoma Task Force 1 personnel in Texas to 18, with another 12 members already supporting rescue operations.

“They’ve received, in some places, up to 30 inches of rain in the last few days, and so they have an extreme flooding emergency along the Guadalupe River Basin,” said OKCFD Battalion Chief and Oklahoma Task Force 1 leader Brad Smith.

The team is taking two inflatable rescue boats, motors and specialized swift water rescue equipment, including personal flotation devices, helmets, throw bags and other rescue gear.

“We’re a small team of six,” Smith said. “We’re just taking two boats, two inflatable boats, some motors and then our personal protective equipment, helmets, throw bags and other rescue devices along with us.”

Smith said Oklahoma Task Force 1 members are well prepared for the mission. The statewide urban search and rescue team includes personnel from the Oklahoma City Fire Department, Oklahoma City Police Department and surrounding fire departments.

“We’ve faced this before,” Smith said. “This is a highly trained group of people, very experienced. We’ve been to out-of-state deployments on this very type of thing before and feel very confident in the work we’ll be expected to do down there.”

The first Oklahoma team has been in Texas for two days and is encountering widespread flooding as swollen rivers and tributaries continue to move downstream.

“They’re just seeing very extremely high water,” Smith said. “The Guadalupe River is up 31 feet right now, and that’s a swell that, of course, moves downstream. All the tributaries are swollen.”

Officials said the newly deployed team could remain in Texas anywhere from four days to two weeks or longer, depending on operational needs and flood conditions.

The deployment is part of a statewide mutual aid request as Texas continues responding to severe flooding in the Hill Country. Oklahoma Task Force 1 has frequently deployed to major disasters across the country, providing specialized search and rescue support during floods, storms and other emergencies.