Residents living on Siskind Ct. in Chatham were brought to safety by firefighters this morning due to flooding along the Thames River.
The Chatham-Kent Fire Department received a call from a resident who was worried because she couldn't reach her parents, who live on the street.
When crews arrived and saw that the street was flooded, they put on immersion suits and went door-to-door and checked about 13 houses.
"We realized that we had around four of five houses where there were people in," says Assistant Fire Chief Chris Case. "Then we've got the issue of how do we get them out, because the water is quite high. So that's when we call in our specialist dive and water rescue team, who came in an brought our specialist equipment, including a boat."
Case says they rescued about seven people and a number of pets.
"What you saw today was a multi-agency operation. We have our colleagues from police, and our EMS colleagues. We have all worked together and I'm happy to say that everyone has been rescued safe and well. To be absolutely sure, we'll go back now and we'll check every house and make sure ever thing's fine."
Case says fire crews had visited that street before the flood to advise residents that they may want to stay elsewhere for a few days.
"A number of people decided that they were going to stay, and when they awoke this morning, the water had risen significantly."
Chatham-Kent Fire and Emergency Services are prepared if they need to do another evacuation.
"We're going to be proactive," says Case. "We'll be out touring the areas, looking at other places that could be susceptible to flood water, and making sure that we're offering that assistance to the public as best we can."
Case says they will continue to check on residents who live along the Thames River to make sure everyone is safe.
