BREWER, Maine — When the Brewer Fire Department received a grant from Firehouse Subs to buy a new, flat-bottomed fireboat, they didn't envision paddling down Brooks Street on its first journey out.
But early Saturday morning, after rain and wind had battered much of the state for hours, firefighters found a surprising use for the boat.
Crews were called at 4:30 a.m. Saturday to Brooks Street, a small street off State Street, where Adam Küykendall had reported gas fumes and a flooded basement. But with water up to a truck bumper and rising, leaving his home with two children wasn't so simple.
"When we saw how high the water was and how quickly it was rising, I called 911, just looking for advice as to how to proceed," Küykendall said. "We'd had floods in the past but never this severe, and the water was rising really, really quickly ... we didn't really have a sense of when this was going to end, or how much worse it was going to get."
When Brewer Fire Lt. Brandon Randall arrived at the home, he took a minute to consider the problem.
"The entire road was flooded, and a couple of house lots," Randall said. "We couldn't see a great spot to get to the house easily without being waist-deep in water. Based on the visibility and the unknown depth of the water, we decided it was no true emergency but with the personnel we had on scene, the best resource we had was the boat."
Poling along the ground, and then paddling when the water got too deep, the crew ferried the family to safety, although one of the owners returned to stay with the building.
"They were able to get in, they didn't get wet, and we could bring some of their belongings," Randall said.
"Boat 30 was quickly launched and the family was ferried the 200' to dry land," Brewer Fire Department wrote in a Facebook post. "While I wouldn't consider this a typical 'Water Rescue,' the use of Boat 30 kept the family which included children and our firefighters from having to wade through any amount of water. Keeping citizens and fire personnel out of the water drastically reduces the chances of illness or injury."
Randall said it's likely the fumes resulted from gas cans in the basement tipping over when it flooded.
Following the rescue, crews returned with the boat to try to find what they assumed was a clogged storm drain, Randall said.
Whatever the cause, by 8 p.m. the road was completely dry, and the boat was back on its trailer, he added.
"Not exactly how we expected it to be used on its first mission," Randall said.
Küykendall said his family has almost finished emptying the basement, but it's still drying out and they're waiting for a piece to arrive for the furnace to be repaired.
His kids, 8 and 12 years old, were scared and excited, he said.
"All of a sudden it started to hit them," he said. "But they're resilient, and they rolled with it pretty well."