When the flood waters come and people need help, there's no time to waste. Now deputies in Pickens County have a new tool to help them better respond when the next disaster strikes.
"You always wonder when help is gonna be there when you're stranded like that,"--Sam Byrd, Boater.
Sam Byrd lives near Pickens County's Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway and knows all too well what it's like needing assistance in those waters.
"When I broke down, my motor blew out, and it took us until 10 o 'clock that night to get somebody to get us back to the ramp," Byrd said.
He waited four hours for assistance. His experience is one example of a call the Pickens County Sheriff's Office could've responded to, if they already had the new boat gifted through a Military program. Beforehand, the Sheriff's Office relied on other resources to help.
"Either community members that had resources, boats or whatever or state. State police would come in, they have resources available. It just takes time to get them over here,"--Sheriff Todd Hall, Pickens County Sheriff's Office.
Pickens County is responsible for about thirty miles of river. The new boat is a game changer in reaching people in time.
"Pickens county has a vast amount of water and not having an emergency response vessel to handle that is just something we couldn't stand by and do without," --Justin White, PCSO.
All PCSO deputies will receive training on how to respond to emergencies on water.