Local fire captain recounts rescue efforts after return from Asheville

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- By the time Hurricane Helene made landfall, the Indiana River Rescue School had already deployed a 19-person rescue boat team, facing the storm and destruction left behind head on.

Part of that team was Brent Vanbruaene, captain for South Bend Fire Department. With him were other firefighters from South Bend, Goshen and Mishawaka, as well as Indiana DNR conservation officers.

They were deployed to McDowell County, just east of Asheville, right before the hurricane hit. Vanbruaene explained the first day, they worked morning to morning doing rescues.

“We were out running those calls through the whole time of that day. Some of our teams rescued up to 36 people in a couple hours period,” said Vanbruaene.

Vanbruaene explained the magnitude of damage was indescribable, “I mean it was heavy winds, trees coming down everywhere, sideways rain, you know the stuff you see on TV, I guess. It’s hard to really explain or do it justice,”.

Once the initial rescues subsided, Vanbruaene said their team’s mission shifted more to a search and rescue.

“So, then it turns more into a search and rescue mission rather than just a rescue mission, because we have to look for people and find out where the people that are in need are located,” stated Vanbruaene. “So, we did that for two or three days, not only searching structures to make sure that no one was inside, but also areas where all the debris collects, areas that are remote that haven’t been seen or heard from yet because people got to understand that communications is down in storms like this.”

When asked about the physical or emotional toll for first responders working in this type of disaster, Vanbruaene said it is important each individual takes account of their mental health, but they can lean on each other when needed.

“The agencies we work for are doing amazing jobs at supporting us with the mental health that we need, and so we are in a good spot from being supported in that way, but it takes each individual to come out and make sure that they don’t harbor that stuff and luckily we have a strong brother and sisterhood that allows us to talk about it amongst ourselves,” said Vanbruaene.

He went on the explain they were in contact with other first response teams who have since been re-deployed to Florida once Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night.

“They were in North Carolina, and we heard recently that they were going back down to Florida, so some of these teams are being deployed for, you know two, three weeks at a time,” said Vanbruaene.

He explained the people in the affected hurricane areas are working to piece back together their lives after being left in disarray.

“They lost everything. The people that we were directly in contact with lost everything,” said Vanbruaene. “It’s just all ruined. So, just pray for those people and just donate what you can to help the cause,”.