SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A mother and her 4-month-old baby were among those rescued by boat after heavy storms flooded Abington Road in Springfield Township.
Springfield Township police and firefighters used a rescue Zodiac boat to evacuate residents from a home around 7 p.m. Thursday.
Olivia Swain said she watched the water rise outside her home before it began seeping inside.
"It started coming in my sliding door and the walls underneath the trim in the front room. I was like, 'OK, we got to get out of here,'" Swain said.
Firefighters said a nearby stormwater creek couldn't handle the deluge.
Swain said she was afraid to walk through the floodwater, mostly out of concern for the safety of her 4-month-old baby, Elliot.
"You don't know what's in that water. It was already over our knees," Swain said. "Carrying him, like I was going to slip and fall and possibly hurt my son and that wasn't going to happen."
Police and firefighters used the Zodiac to get Swain, her baby, her sister-in-law, a dog, and a cat out of the home and through a couple of feet of water to safety.
"I hope nobody ever has to hand their 4-month-old baby to a police officer in a lifeboat while it's pouring down rain because it was absolutely terrifying," Swain said.
Springfield Township Fire Marshal John Cain said swift water rescues are unusual in the township.
"The guys stepped up. They did what they needed to do and sometimes you just have to adapt and figure out where you're going to go," Cain said.
Firefighters also rescued a kitten named Oracle from the house next door, belonging to neighbor Melissa Estes.
"I was wanting to go in and get it myself and the fireman wouldn't let me," Estes said. "They said it was a little too dangerous."
Flooding remained in Estes' backyard following the storm, leaving it looking like a small pond. The surging water also invaded her home, ruining furniture, boxes of items she had planned to donate to a homeless shelter, and many things of sentimental value.
"Some things, you really can't replace them like pictures and mementos and I saved every single obituary program from everyone that I've lost, and those are all waterlogged," Estes said.
Swain's family is now staying with other relatives. She is still assessing how much damage the flooding did to the first floor of her home and believes it ruined her car.
She's also very grateful to the first responders who rescued the family.
"I think the raft was absolutely necessary and thank you so much to those police officers that got us out of there so quickly," Swain said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Swain family. CLICK HERE for more information.
