RIDDLE CONSTRUCTION … Brian Foltz manages the Wauseon store, while his wife Samantha is the owner. (PHOTO BY JAMES PRUITT)
(Story originally appeared October 10th, 2018)
By: James Pruitt
Viewing unimaginable devastation from winds, rain and flooding caused by Hurricane Florence, a small work crew was in North Carolina looking for someone to help. The three-man crew came from Riddle Landscaping and Restoration of northwest Ohio. The company specializes in dealing with water damaged homes, but the workers had never seen anything like this.
Highways disappeared under the floodwaters and were transformed into rivers. In some places only the rooftops were visible in neighborhoods. “It was super hard to get into some of these areas,” office manager Melissa Malloy said of the crew’s attempts to help.
The crew was hoping to deal with flooded homes, but by the time they got to Charlotte and east of the Queen City, the floodwaters from areas designated as disaster zones had already receded.
What they found as they got into the Fayette and Elizabethtown areas and followed the Cape Fear was the river had overrun its banks and flooded the Wilmington area, Malloy said. “Some of the areas were so flooded, you couldn’t do anything,” Malloy said. “Some of the areas they hit right away and were passable; water had already receded.
“You were either in major flood area or you were in nothing at all.” The crew came across the Flat Branch Volunteer Fire Department and ended up spending time there helping the station dry out. The department had no time to do anything about the flooded station as they were busy with nonstop water rescues.
The Riddle team was lost and Brian Foltz said he stopped to ask for directions. The firefighters pointed back to the station and the crew hung out there. “They asked me ‘what do you do,’ and they said they were flooded, and we were able to help them,” Foltz said.
So the Ohio crew did what they do best, water mitigation after a disaster. So they stayed put and helped the firefighters dry out the station and wait for the insurance adjusters. “That first night and into the next day, you were dealing with tornado situations,” Malloy said of the crew. “That was your most intense time.”
By this time, Brian Foltz, manager of the Wauseon store and leader of the crew had joined the interview. Some people from Cincinnati stopped by to help the department as well. The task was daunting as Foltz showed some photos of storm damage in Wilmington. The high winds and rain had leveled large trees.
The Riddle team was able to get its equipment into the station and began to pull up the carpet to dry the place out. They stayed there a week and when it was time to go power had still not been restored. “People were still not into their homes,” Foltz said.
The crew tried to help a couple other businesses but with the waters receding and the places caked in mud, they were waiting on the insurance adjusters before getting started on cleanup, Malloy said. “We will do cleanup, but that wasn’t our focus,” Foltz said.
The water had receded at the fire station, but carpeting was saturated, Foltz said. The crews pulled the carpeting up the baseboards, got the fans in there and sprayed for mold, he said. “We were able to get the dehumidifiers in there and get the water out,” Foltz said.
Within two days they had the station dried out. Most homes take about 24 hours to complete, but it all depends how high the floodwaters were and the kind of materials in the structure. This isn’t the first time company has responded to flooding. They have done working following flooding in Findlay and Monroe, Michigan.
“This is what we prepare for,” Foltz said of the North Carolina adventure. “We were stocked well.” “It was a humbling experience.” During their time in the south their trailer broke and Foltz went to Lowe’s for parts. He was amazed by how friendly people were in spite of their circumstances.
“Lowe’s worked off a generator, everyone was in good spirits, they had a great mindset,” Foltz said. The experience also created new friendships with the firefighters.“We will keep in touch with the fire department and will go there next year for vacation,” Foltz said. “They pulled out the red carpet for us.”