Timothy S. Brady, Ph.D.
When the rains come, balloonists
just wait for another sunny day to do what they enjoy doing. But in south
central Texas on Saturday October 17, that rain continued throughout the
day, dumping over 24 inches and sending a wall of water over 35 feet high
through the towns of New Braunfels and Seguin. Over 2000 homes were totally
destroyed in a matter of a few hours. Several thousand more suffered major
to minor damage with families loosing everything from pets to automobiles.
After the waters subsided the cleanup that faced the community was overwhelming. Houses built over 150 years ago were flooded. All of the floor coverings had to be removed from houses after they were inundated with inches to feet of water with little warning. Wallboard had to be removed, basements had to be drained, and sub flooring needed to be dried quickly to salvage those houses that only suffered water damage.
The entire community pitched in to help friends, neighbors, and family members dig out of the ravages of the "500 year flood." The Tri-County Balloon Association was not unaffected by the damaging flood. Two members had houses that had major damage. Another had water in the basement of her 150 year old house that soaked flooring and structural timbers.
Ten years ago, club president, Dr. Tim Brady, worked with the fire service and Tempest Technology to write the training courses for positive pressure ventilation (PPV). Positive pressure is the technique used to evacuate smoke and ventilate burning structures of noxious gases, smoke, and heat. PPV is the principle used when balloonists inflate their balloons with cold air. Exchanging large volumes of air quickly through a confined structure reduces damage in a fire. Brady and fellow balloonists from the Tri County Balloon Association turned the technique to positive use as all of the pilots in the club donated their inflator fans to be used to help dry out homes flooded in the disaster.
The Club's Special Events Coordinator, Wilton Warnecke, Jr. coordinated the efforts to place the fans in homes that could be saved with several hours of air blowing through and under the structures for six to eight hours a day. Balloon club pilots; Mark Vernon, Lisa Eastin, Rick Eastin, and Theresa Smith took a crash course on the principles of PPV from Tim Brady and together they delivered seven blowers to over 30 homes in the area during the first two weeks of the recovery phase. The blowers were set up to run all day during daylight hours. Some were set to blow into the structure like they do into a balloon. The Tempest blowers were rigged with special Tempest Smooth Bore Ducting that is used to blow air into confined spaces. The Tempest Blowers were used to dry out the sub-flooring and basements. In addition, the home owners were able to inject anti-bacterial chemicals through the Tempest Blowers to kill the mildew, mold, and fungus bacteria that began to develop under the houses.
Not to feel outdone by the pilots, the rest of the club assisted in disaster relief by collecting clothing and bedding to deliver to many of the victims whose damage consisted mostly of superficial effects on the house but who, nevertheless, lost beds, clothes, and food as the water rose to two or three feet inside their houses. At the same time the Club crew members felt the need to provide more assistance through a "Light Up Your Spirits" evening inflation. Working with Eckerd's Drugs, Canyon High School Band of New Braunfels, Wal-Mart, and Sharp Propane of Seguin the crew organized three evenings, in one week, of "Glowing Radiance" in which the pilots inflated and glowed to music provided by the Canyon High Band. Not only did the local balloonists participate, but Jim Ahern, the pilot for Norwest Bank which had already contributed a sizable donation to the disaster, worked with the local Norwest Bank manager to bring "Li'l Buck" to two of the events, crunched between the UTSA Fest the weekend of October 30 and heading to Thunderbird in Phoenix for the November 8 weekend. The club raised over 300 dollars to be used by the American Red Cross for disaster aid.
This was not the end of the disaster related activities by the Tri-County Association members. Since the club is less than a year old, the energy among its members is only exceeded by their creativity. On the weekend of October 30, the Club members crewed for member pilots who were part of the UTSA Fest in San Antonio, a balloon rally to raise money for the University of Texas San Antonio Alumni Association. San Antonio is 30 miles from New Braunfels, the hardest hit of the Tri-County communities. After each major event at the Rally, the Club members drove back to New Braunfels to continue to distribute clothing and place blowers loaned by pilots not flying the event. Then, under the direction of Club Vice President Tina Pruess, whose river home was severely damaged by the floods, the crew found time to make costumes for the Halloween contest at the UTSA event and win first prize.
In the three week recovery period after the floods, the Tri-County Balloon Association members donated more than 850 hours of service, 840 hours of continuous blower time, 50 hours of balloon inflation time, and $200 from the Club treasury to aid the victims in Comal, Guadalupe, and Hays Counties. "It certainly isn't traditional ballooning, but it is great way to improve community and landowner relations."
Tim Brady is President, Tri County Texas Balloon Association
