came at significant cost, as Cole notes: “We did end up losing four of our large fire trucks in the process of saving those lives that night.” A multi-agency response represented remarkable coordination in extreme circumstances. “We had Army National Guards, Swift-Water Rescue out there with our first responders to save lives at night. And many were saved,” Cole reports. This collaborative effort extended to subsequent recovery phases as well, with Cole emphasizing: “I’m so proud of our community, first responders, and National Guard for their efforts.” After the disaster, coordinated efforts with federal agencies established critical recovery mechanisms. “Where we’ve been at with disaster recovery and the declaration is now, we’ve got FEMA on board, state, Homeland Security, army National Guard, coordinating all those resources,” Cole explains. Initial priorities focused on immediate stabilization of affected properties, including the airport. The flood’s impact extended to critical airport infrastructure.“We did have some water infiltration in the airport terminal and in many of our hanger buildings out at the airport, we did lose some fencing around the airport,” Cole recalls. These damages required immediate attention to maintain operational capability and security compliance. “We shut down the airport one day, and had the airport back up and running the following day,” Cole says.“I’ll give credit to Bobbi Thompson (Director of the Roswell Air Center).” Her hands-on leadership proved essential during the crisis. The team 179 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 03 ROSWELL AIR CENTER
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