Photo by Craig Hudson | Gazette-Mail – Military personnel hoist up a trainee who was “rescued” from the water during a training exercise for the newly formed West Virginia Swift Water Rescue Team.
By Max Garland Staff writer for WV Gazette Mail | Posted: Dec. 2, 2017 | Source: WV Gazette Mail
When Kevin Clendenin first trained for swift water rescue operations more than two decades ago, he didn’t expect he’d be training one day with West Virginia National Guard members, let alone using their helicopters.
But circumstances changed quickly following the deadly June 2016 flood that devastated much of West Virginia.
“The floods in 2016, with many losing their lives, that’s what sparked this joint enterprise,” said Clendenin, now chief of the Clendenin Volunteer Fire Department.
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