FLORISSANT, Mo. – It’s often said that seconds can mean the difference between life and death. A Florissant mother and her two daughters bore witness to that as their home quickly filled up with water during last year’s surprise flash flooding.
“The water was coming into my bedroom … and it started coming in through the doorway,” Deborah Ford said. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what are we going to do?’”
Heavy rainfall flooded much of Florissant and other parts of the region exactly one year ago, causing extensive damage to parts of north St. Louis County.
Ford’s doorbell camera recorded Florissant police officers encountering swift floodwaters as they jumped into action to help save her family.
“He grabbed me, because I can’t swim. I’m afraid of water,” Ford said.
“They came in to get us out of here. They definitely risked their lives for us,” Donneisha Atkins, Ford’s daughter, said. “And I’m pretty sure it was unexpected for them. They put their pride to the side, and they got in the water with us, and they saved us.”
The Florissant Police Department received numerous calls for flooding that day, as the rain fell in a very short period of time.
“We take an oath to serve and protect. As cliché as that may sound, that’s what we do,” Officer Steve Michael, Florissant Police Department, said. “In this case, it was nerve-racking for everybody involved, but officers pushed aside their fear and did what they had to do.”
Multiple officers received chief commendations for their heroic at a city council meeting last year.
One officer waded through the high waters and broke a window to a business to rescue an employee.
Another officer discovered numerous vehicles that had become inoperable and immobile in the standing water. Some occupants were unable to get out of their vehicles. That officer navigated chest-high water to assist the occupants of the vehicles, making numerous trips to carry them out.
Several other officers responded to a nearby apartment complex and assisted approximately 20 residents in getting them to safety.