Campbell County has its first-ever Swift Water Rescue Team

CAMPBELL COUNTY, TN (WLAF)- Nine emergency volunteers now make up Campbell County’s first-ever Swift Water Rescue Team. The team trained last weekend, Saturday and Sunday, eight grueling hours each day, on the Obed River at Morgan County.

TOP PHOTO: Daniel Lawson, a member of Campbell’s Swift Water Rescue Team, dives into the water during last weekend’s training.

If you have seen the news over the past few years, you’ve likely come across stories on the many floods happening all across the nation putting people and property in grave danger. That, along with memories of the flood of 2019 here in Campbell County, has driven the need for Swift Water Training to an all time high.

In June 2019, Campbell County experienced an extreme rainfall event with an estimated 8.7 inches of rainfall in two and half hours in the La Follette area. That historic flood caused widespread flooding and property damage. Streets, yards, houses, and buildings were inundated. Several bridges were washed out, along with vehicles being caught in the flood waters as roads were destroyed.

People were rescued from floodwaters, including four people on Ivy Hollow Road and several others from vehicles on Glade Springs Road, Old Long Hollow Road and Demory Road. Emergency responders made several rescues even though they were not formally trained.

After the 2019 event, several agencies began putting together a plan to rectify the deficiency. However, two major obstacles stood in the way. One was getting the proper gear, and the other was getting a class taught.

With limited instructors available, getting on a list for the training took some time. Then Hurricane Helene brought attention to swift water events across the state. The State of Tennessee put in place the Tennessee Volunteer Equipment and Training Grant which took years of funding requests to gather all the equipment needed to complete the Technical Rescue Training.

Earlier this month, it all came together when the opportunity to pair up with the neighboring counties of Scott and Morgan to attend a class taught by Technical Rescue Training (TRT). TRT is a world renowned program known for working with the Department of Defense, Special Forces, and the National Park Services on the Obed and Emory Rivers.

The focus was rescuer safety and self rescue, communications, reading the water, proper equipment use, retrieving victims from fast moving water, and going to victims trapped in vehicles. This was an intense class all taught on the water with no classroom time as the classroom was the water.

This is Campbell County’s first ever Swift Water Rescue Team made up of nine volunteers. The class was made up of personnel from La Follette Rescue Squad, Campbell County Rural Fire Service, Caryville Volunteer Fire Department, Campbell County EMS and Campbell County EMA. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-07/30/2026-6AM-PHOTOS SUBMITTED)