LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Firefighters remain on standby ahead of storms headed to Kentucky as crews with Louisville Fire and Rescue trained and gathered resources for any potential swift water rescues.

What You Need To Know

  • Fire crews remain on standby as storms roll into Kentucky 

  • Louisville Fire and Rescue Lt. Col. Clarence Gamble said their gear is packed and loaded so it’s ready at any time 

  • He added between 30 to 35 firefighters remain on standby from the Louisville area

With the threats of potential severe weather any moment, Lt. Col. Clarence Gamble said his team is always ready.

“We have been tasked to have our swiftwater teams on standby in the event that we have to do stuff here or deploy to other parts of the state,” Gamble said.

Gamble has been with Louisville Fire and Rescue for nearly three decades and said constant training helps them navigate whatever situation they’ll encounter. 

“You don't know what you're walking into and it's just you," Gamble said. "We just take our training, and we do a lot of 'what ifs' when we do trainings, different scenarios and we just train based off of that. And whenever we get to a situation, we adapt to what we're doing."

"A lot of times when we have to deploy on these missions like this, there might not be electricity. There might not be food. We will send the crews with food and water. We have our own Starlink, which we can get to a location set up so we can have a communication system." 

Crews from both Louisville and Jefferson County fire departments combined resources to be deployed to any affected areas in the state. Louisville Metro Police Chief Paul Humphrey said they also have a full-time water safety unit that's ready when needed. 

“The real problem comes into play in these flash floods where it hits streets and viaducts and low overhangs and things like that," Humphrey said. "Stay out of those areas; those are the places where we're not necessarily accustomed to water being on a regular basis."

"Between the fire department, the police department and all of our emergency services, we will have personnel available ... but understand that when you make when you make decisions to go out in those situations, you're not only putting yourself at risk, but you're putting those first responders at risk as well." 

Gamble said their gear is packed and loaded so it’s ready at any time. He added around 30 to 35 firefighters remain on standby from the Louisville area.

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