PIKE COUNTY, Ohio — A Scioto County-based swift water rescue team was called into Pike County early Sunday to help local firefighters with a water rescue as a multi-day stretch of heavy rain kept flood warnings in effect across the region, though the visiting crew was not needed once it arrived.
Members of the Scioto County Swift Water Rescue Team, drawn from the Valley Township and Rosemount volunteer fire departments, responded overnight to assist the Waverly and Elm Grove fire departments with a water rescue, the Valley Township Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post. The team found the situation resolved by the time it reached the scene and was not put into the water, according to the post. The department asked the public to keep in mind a family affected by the flooding.
The call came during a National Weather Service flood warning that was in effect for Pike and Ross counties from late Saturday night until 8 a.m. Sunday, part of an extended stretch of heavy rain that has produced flash flooding and water rescues across south-central Ohio since Sept. 9.
The Scioto County Swift Water Rescue Team was formed in 2023 through a partnership between Scioto County Commissioner Scottie Powell and Rosemount Assistant Fire Chief Eric Brown, working with the Community Action Organization of Scioto County, according to the organization. More than $100,000 in grant funding went toward training and equipment for 32 volunteers across eight townships, with the program intended to serve the area’s growing water recreation industry and townships prone to frequent flooding, the organization said. The team has since been called out for emergencies beyond recreational rescues, including flooding incidents.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Valley Township Volunteer Fire Department.
