Water Rescue Team 300 was called out to rescue residents stranded by floodwaters, some whose cars were swept away, during the recent rain.

Butler County Water Rescue Team 300 finished a long shift overnight Tuesday and Wednesday having been to 25 calls.

Mark Adomaitis, leader of the team, said they saw quite a few repeat rescues from previous flooding. He said many of those rescued had waited too long to leave their homes. He said they believed they could wait it out.

“Suddenly they realize how high the water is and said, oh, we need rescued now,” Adomaitis said.

Adomaitis said in Forward Township alone they rescued nine people, four dogs and two cats on one call to a neighborhood that had tried to hunker down.

“You're not going to gain anything. Lock your house up just like you would if you go away,” Adomaitis said. “If you're in doubt, just get out of there.”

Despite a large number of calls, Adomaitis said no issues arose in any of the incidents. He said he even recalls rescuing a family with a few children who were well behaved and cooperative in putting their life jackets on.

“We did not have any issues whatsoever,” Adomaitis said. “No one hurt. No one needed transported by ambulance. Most everybody was cold, wet and shaken up.”

Nathan Wulff, water rescue team member and chief of the Unionville Volunteer Fire Department, said the team's success draws from its preparation and training.

“When you get a team of guys together in the middle of the night, and everything just clicks and works, it comes down to training, and it seems everything paid off,” Wulff said.

He said the team did encounter a commonly difficult rescue, the avoidance of which has been stressed over the past few years.

Wulff said it is never a good idea for people to try to drive through water. He said even a few inches can carry a car away.

“It's a perpetual issue,” Wulff said. “People don't seem to learn their lesson.”

He said if a car gets swept away, it puts not only the people in the car at risk, but the rescuers who have to move through that same water to get the people to safety.

“It puts us in a tough spot because not only are you in a tough spot but now we have to put our personnel in a tough situation to get them out,” he said.

Wulff said the rescue team was busy, but so was everybody else. He said he commended all the first responders for their efforts.

“A lot of these fire departments have been getting hammered with service calls,” Wulff said. “Those guys are all beat up too. It's been a long couple days.”