Rescued Again by the Butler Fire Department

It was a dark and gloomy night, as Snoopy used to write in the cartoon by Charles Schultz. However, Hurricane Irene was not a cartoon; it was a real disaster which slammed into the East Coast and now was here in Morris County.  

On Saturday evening, Aug. 27, Irene had struck Butler and all was well for a short time. We experienced no power outage and were happy that everything seemed fine, except for that howling wind that bent the many trees on our property and bounced their limbs back and forth like a seesaw.  

We listened to the weather channel, so had taken the proper precautions that they suggested. We had enough food in the house, and filled water in various types of containers including some unfiltered water in pots in case we had trouble with the toilets. Matches and candles were scattered throughout the house and we thought we were safe.

Around 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, Aug. 28, I noticed that the cellar had started flooding, but it was about an inch so I thought we would handle it in the morning and went off to bed. Bright and early, our good neighbor, Andy Krawczyk, who looks out for many of his neighbors in the area, knocked on our door and told us about the water in our driveway which was inching up higher and higher by the minute.  He helped my fiancé, Tyrone Johnson, get everything out of the garage that could possibly contaminate the water as well as yard equipment. The water was now a foot deep in the cellar and garage! Many old photographs were lost, but that was the main loss during this flood. We both agreed it could have been worse.

After they moved out everything that could be damaged by the rising water, like the snow blower and the lawn mower, etc., I called the Butler Police to ask if we could be put on the list to have our cellar and garage pumped out. They were very eager to comply and were very pleasant while dealing with me (as I was becoming a tad frantic over the mess and loss of 50 years of photographs). We had two pumps working for over five hours, but the water had only receded 2 inches. The Butler Police told me that we would be put on the list and the Butler Fire Department would be dispatched as soon as they were able to get to my home.

Within half an hour, which seemed like minutes, two young men came to our rescue from the Butler Fire Department on Carey Avenue. John Futcher who has been at Company No. 4, Pequannock Engine and Hose, for three years and Bill Meier, who had been at the Bartholdi Fire House for three years and was now with Company No. 1, Kinney Hose, at Carey Avenue for the last five years had come to help us with our dilemma. They had turned off our furnace and shut off the hot water as a safety measure.

They set up a pump and had it running in minutes. Then they informed us that they would get a different type of pump which would drain the water quicker and left. We thought that was the end of seeing them for a long period of time, but within ten minutes, they were back with a generator and a huge hose which got rid of the water within an hour!

As I was talking with these delightful young men, I realized that they were on hand when this had happened to us in the spring with three other fire trucks and approximately seven other volunteers. Now, they had rescued us yet again from the rising water in our cellar and basement. If we did not secure their help, it would have at least taken another day or two to get the water drained from our property.

In today's society when many young people are on drugs or use alcohol, or the teens who quit school and get into trouble with the law, it was indeed a fantastic experience to be introduced to these two fine fire department volunteers who knew what they were doing and handled their job with the utmost efficiency. John and Bill were polite, friendly, professional, knowledgeable and extremely helpful. I am not sure we would have been able to handle this occurrence as well without their help. We are sure that their parents are very proud of their volunteer work with the Butler Fire Department.

We appreciate John Futcher and Bill Meier's help during our time of need. We praise them for their extraordinary and unselfish volunteer work and the time they give back to the Butler community.

We applaud you and appreciate all you have done for us twice this year. You have our never-ending thanks and gratitude for a job well done.