SPOKANE, Wash. — Pullman fire officials said the water rose so quickly on Grand Avenue that the pressure made it impossible to open the door at a nail salon. This trapped about a dozen people inside as the water continued to rise.
Fire crews smashed open a window at the nail salon to get people out. At that point, the water was still shallow enough to walk to safety. But as the water got deeper, crews had to get creative.
Captain Eric Reiber with Pullman Fire Department said initially crews were sent to Grand Avenue to rescue someone stranded in their car and to help police with traffic control.
But the situation changed so quickly that when they arrived, the water was about two feet deep.
“I’ve seen water there three other times but this is the fastest we’ve ever seen it," Reiber said. "We haven’t had the problems we had last night because it hasn’t ever risen that fast.”
Deep water and a very swift current eventually made it too risky for crews to walk people to safety, so they used a front loader from the city public works department to take people to dry land.
“The loaders were heavy enough they can go through the water without the danger of washing away,” Reiber said.
A video taken by Matt Haugen shows crews rescuing someone stranded at the State Farm insurance building.
They also used the front loader to reach people stranded at the laundromat next to Cougar Country and even responded to a diabetic emergency at the Mobil gas station, which was only surrounded by water.
They took medics to the gas station and brought people there to safety.
Captain Reiber said their rescue efforts were very successful in that no one was injured.