KIRBYVILLE, Texas — Dr. Doug Stringer, founder and president of Somebody Cares America/International, and Mr. Chris Hensman of the Rebuild Texas Fund presented two fully outfitted Genz Connector Boats and a Twin Transport Trailer to the city of Kirbyville Tuesday. The boats are for future flood incidents and water rescues.
Dr. Stringer and Hensman presented the keys of the boats to Kirbville Police Chief Paul Brister. Brister will work alongside Kirbville Volunteer Fire Chief Greg Ellis, and Roganville Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Smith to house, maintain, and deploy the equipment. They'll also work to select and train operators for the equipment.
Kirbyville Police Sergeant Josh Hancock said the boats connect together, and hold somewhere around 1800 pounds, or about eight people. They'll run in a minimum of six inches of water, and can be launched just about anywhere, according to Hancock.
"We're going to use them for a whole lot of different things, we're going to use them whenever we have our floods, it may not be just swift water, it may be just standing water somewhere, high water, we may use them for rescuing people at the lake that are stranded, drowning victims," Hancock said.
It's a need they've had for years now. Hancock said prior to the donation, they had to depend on other emergency department to come and assist in water rescues.
Hancock said they would have come in handy several times over the past five years, especially during Harvey. He said they've had to launch boats out of highway 96 in over a foot of water several times.
"People showed up fairly quickly to help us, but we waited about a day before we were actually able to get some boats, off-road vehicles and things in here to help us with some of the rescues that we did in our area," Hancock said.
He went on to explain that had they had their own boats, they would have been able to deploy them faster, and get people out quickly and safely. Having them gives first responders peace of mind that they'll be able to help their community faster.
"We couldn't have afforded these boats any other way, they're around 70,000 dollars for both of these boats," Hancock said.
Dr. Stringer said it was a donation they, along with Rebuild Texas, were happy to make. Stringer said it's a gift given to the community, to work in the community, and help in the event of any crisis.
"We pray it will never happen, but it's always good to be prepared, and also to help continue to bring light to what's happening here, and the many many people still displaced, still in need, and we want to make sure we're here for the long haul," Stringer said.
Somebody Cares was established 38 years ago. They started working with at risk youth in the Houston area, and now work in collaboration of networks of compassionate organizations around the world.
"So when disasters happen we know people already on the ground, we want to work to and through local churches and agencies to help leverage them, because when the media's gone and all the larger agencies are gone, the needs are still there for a long term," Stringer said.
Stringer said the donation was in partnership with the local Kirbyville community, Jasper-Newton Long Term Recovery Group, and the Rebuild Texas Fund. Stringer said they've been working with First Baptist Church Kirbyville since Katrina and Rita, and have kept the relationship going.
"We've been able to work in this community for many, many years, and try to partner together to make sure that there's healing and hope in the midst of tragedies," Stringer said.
The donation was made possible with the help of many donors across the country, people Stringer describes as "everyday heroes who really care about the community."
Stringer said it's important to keep the attention focused on helping local communities after tragedy strikes, even after people's attention is diverted.
"It's really neighbors helping neighbors, and people helping people," Stringer said.