They came from throughout the area. A U.S. representative, a district supervisor, teenagers, male and female, of various ethnic backgrounds. Their mission was singular — help the residents of Huntington in Mount Vernon District salvage what they could and haul out the rest for pick up by county disposal trucks.
It was 8 a.m., Friday, June 30, and for several hundred volunteers this day was starting at Edison High School on Franconia Road in Lee District. They were the first of several shifts heading for flood ravaged Huntington across from the Huntington Avenue Metro station to aid flood weary residents that took the brunt of a raging Cameron Run Wednesday night.
Under the direction of Jeanne Sanders, executive director, Volunteer Fairfax, volunteers registered, were briefed on safety matters, received their assignments, picked up their protective gear and supplies, boarded school buses and were transported to a scene reminiscent of Belle Haven after Hurricane Isabel.
“We couldn’t have done this [clean up] without all the volunteers. They came in and took over,” said Debbie Fitzgerald, an employee of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security whose home on Arlington Terrace was inundated with water that filled the basement and rose nearly six inches onto the first floor.
“Everything in the basement had to be thrown out and a lot of the furniture on the first floor. All the floors on the main level are buckled. We also lost both cars that were parked on the street,” she said.
“There was just too much water and it came too fast. There was no warning,” Fitzgerald recalled. Her daughter’s car was fully insured because it was relatively new. But, Fitzgerald only carried liability on her car because of its age.
Several blocks away on Fenwick Drive, Dave Scribner and his wife Arrie had played out a scene that was straight from a Hollywood action/adventure script. That fast rising flood water caught them and their seven children completely off guard.
“We saw the water coming up fast and decided to leave. Maybe not such a good idea in retrospect,” he said.
“Luckily I had parked the car higher up the street and it was okay. When I stepped down onto the sidewalk from the front yard I was in water up to my neck,” he said.
“I saw a large piece of wood floating by and grabbed it. We had just gotten a new refrigerator that day so we used the foam to build a raft to transport the family. Only two of the kids can swim,” Scribner said.
“We got everyone to safety on the first go. Then I went back for the dogs. By that time the water was covering the front yard,” he said. He got the dogs to safety as well.
The Scribner seven proved their resilience Friday afternoon at the Huntington Community Center that was being used as a day care center, among other things, while parents worked with volunteers and members of the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department to clean out their homes. They were enjoying the hot dogs, snow cones, cotton candy and playing various games.
BY NOON FRIDAY the second shift of volunteers were arriving at Edison High School. Among them was U.S. Rep. James P. Moran (D-8). “One of my prime reasons for doing this, in addition to helping the residents, is to get some first-hand experience on the situation. I don’t know if we will be able to get federal aid. But, we are sure going to try,” he said.
Later on that afternoon Moran was showing the effects of getting that first had experience as he hauled mud laden appliances and furniture from a home of Fenwick Drive assisted by Mount Vernon District resident Jim Davis, another volunteer. By that point Moran’s white protective coveralls were torn and splattered with mud.
Joining in the physical clean up following two days of working with the community to seek aid was Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerald Hyland. “The major damage was in many of the basements of these homes. They were literally filled with water right to the ceiling,” he said leaning up against the wall of the community center in his muddy jump suit while taking a break.
“The amount of material we are taking out of these homes is awesome. They lost so much. These people really need help to get their lives back together,” Hyland said.
Although Hyland was referring to long-term help in the form of disaster relief from the state and federal governments, immediate organized and total support for the residents was quite evident along a two block stretch of Huntington Avenue and throughout the ravaged part of the small community. It was the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department.
That aid began when the flood occurred and was scheduled to continue through July 4. Under the direction of Deputy Chief Michael Wood, Fire Department personnel were coordinating and providing their expertise on everything from pumping basements, to directing volunteers, to setting up a day-care center, to establishing a security system for children at the center.
Thursday night, prior to the volunteer work force arrival, Hyland and Wood joined Dr. Carolyn Boyd, a Huntington resident, in a communitywide meeting at the center to inform residents of what was being done and what was needed to be done both immediately and in the days ahead.
A majority of the residents at that meeting, which overflowed the meeting room, indicated they had lived in Huntington for less than five years.
There was also a language barrier. Many did not speak or understand English.
“We are here to practice practical democracy. We are here to pressure our community and congressional leaders to seek aid on our behalf. We need to demand from our government the services we are entitled to,” Boyd told the group.
One of the haunting questions of the meeting was just what happened.
After torrential rains throughout the week, all of a sudden Cameron Run, without advanced indication, rose rapidly, overflowing its banks, not only into the Huntington community but also across the Capital Beltway closing it under nearly a foot of mud.
“Helicopters, boats and emergency vehicles have all gone up and down Cameron Run trying to figure out just what happened. Many thought it was the construction at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that caused this. My gut tells me it was not a single causal factor but a combination of things,” Hyland told the group that night.
Hyland also notified residents who might have just gotten their property tax bills, “If payment of taxes is an issue get in touch with my office and we will do all we can to help.” Unfortunately many of the residents do not have flood insurance because the area was not indicated as being in a flood zone, according to Hyland.
“Just the day before the flood, county officials were in my office explaining that somehow the area was not drawn within the flood plain on the maps. They said then this was going to change and residents would be notified. The flood occurred that night,” Hyland said.
“From the standpoint of Fairfax County we are going to get you all the assistance we possibly can to get you back to where you were,” he told the crowd.
That promise was buttressed by Wood. “We will be working right through the holiday. We are well on our way to getting you back to baseline services,” he said.
Those services were a collaborative effort by county solid waste and building inspectors joined by Dominion Virginia Power, Washington Gas, and VDOT, according to Wood. “The area has been divided into two divisions with Fire Department representatives managing each division,” he explained.
That logistics/management plan was in full view at the command center set up by the Fire Department along Huntington Avenue. “The volunteers are aiding residents in bringing out the debris, the solid waste trucks are picking it up, and the building inspectors are constantly updating their assessments to make sure structures are sound,” said Captain Greg Buckley, station commander, Penn Daw, serving as a field captain for the effort. “We also have an emergency aid station at the corner of Fenwick and Huntington that is supported by rapid response vehicles for medical emergencies. Firefighters are constantly circulating throughout the community with citizens’ assistance.”
“Our primary goal is service. Help the people in what ever way we can,” he stated.
Those efforts were also being supported by the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Fastran Transportation, Volunteer Canteens, and United Community Ministries. “All these people are doing a tremendous job. It’s a true community effort,” Buckley said as he motored through the various Huntington streets in his rapid response vehicle making sure the system was not just meeting its goal but surpassing it.