Video of overnight rescue shows Hoosiers carrying child, dog to safety

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A group of emergency responders from Indiana are among the volunteer rescue workers pulling residents from rising floodwaters in the Carolinas. 

Indiana Task Force 1 – a team of firefighters and specially trained civilians from across the state – spent Saturday night conducting evacuations and high water rescues in communities north of Wilmington, North Carolina. 

Team leaders called their hours-long stretch of life-saving work “absolutely one of the most challenging nights” they had ever experienced, adding they had to act quickly to “[battle] Mother Nature’s fury.” 

Video of an overnight rescue mission shows Task Force members carrying a young child out of a boat after the wrath of Florence forced the family out of their New Hanover County home. 

In the video clip, posted on the group’s Twitter page, a team member can be seen wading through more than a foot of water while cradling the child. A woman can be heard thanking him as he places the toddler in her arms. 

The footage also shows Task Force members – smiling brightly despite the rain and wind – carrying a large dog to safety. 

The Hoosiers are contributing to relief and rescue efforts alongside New Hanover firefighters, members of the North Carolina National Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) workers.

Indiana Task Force 1 said they had worked for more than 24 hours by Sunday but continued to put the needs of local residents ahead of their own. 

“We’re taking people to shelters,” a team leader told New 8. “There’s no time to rest.”