Oso, Washington – On March 22, 2014 around 1037 Hours, a major part of land slid down a hillside covering a small country town and its communities, a major highway and into a nearby river. 41 people lost their lives. Several are still considered missing. Lives were destroyed. Businesses are suffering catastrophic losses from the Highway being closed. Economic slowdowns have been felt. Heroes were created instantly.
The devastated community pulled together with the help of local residents, first responders and those from around the country whom became Unsung Heroes the moment they stepped on scene. These are the stories we are looking to share on this project and create this book as a Tribute to those whom we will never forget from the Oso and surrounding communities.
The mudslide disaster is the most destructive and deadliest event in all of Washington State, with Mt. St. Helens coming in second.
L.R. [Lisa] Swenson, the Public Safety Writer and Creator of this Fire Blog will be taking on this book project as a Tribute to all involved. Her background includes involvement in both Volunteer SAR, Fire Rehab, as a Published Author of “Seattle Mourn”, Public Safety Writer and Blogger. She was one of the first non-main stream media outlets to cover the live incident as it began unfolding from day one and many days thereafter.
“From the Moment the event began unfolding, we began covering the live feed of the story. We knew it was bad but then the images began to show up on Social Media. It was then that we realized how serious the incident was turning from a minor slide across the roadway to potentially catastrophic in a matter of minutes.
It was as if we were there with the residents, First Responders, amongst the Command Staff going through the motions with them.
This is the only way we know how to honor the men and women who worked so hard through such an overwhelming feat to save so many and stay on task.
All of the training could never have prepared them for this and we Honor them for their amazing actions as Unsung Heroes.” – LR Swenson
We are reaching out to firefighters, first responders, police officers, Command Staff, EOM staff, PIOs, FEMA Task Force Members, Governor, residents who took part in the #ososlide searches, rescues, Command, Press Releases, etc. We want to tell “your” stories.
The book will include but is not limited to real-life accounts of rescues, saves, events, viewpoints, emotional impacts, photos, etc.
We are also looking for those who would like to become part of our Volunteer “Consultants” team, where we [the author and consultants] work together to make sure all details within the book are fact based. Together, we will review public records, transcripts and other record information to form a clear picture of the disaster from Day 1 to the end of the incident.
As a benefit to our “Consultants” and “Published Story Contributors”, you will be presented with a special gift as a thank you for participating on this project. We appreciate everyone’s insights, assistance and input.
A portion of the revenue generated from book sales will be donated to one of the Author’s favorite Public Safety Agency/Charity/Non-profit that directly provides services, benefits to the Oso, Darrington and Arlington Communities. In addition, funding will also be used to cover the nominal costs generated by the project and author [both will be nominal].
We are currently searching for a publisher that would be willing to assist us to publish this amazing story and the large army of Unsung Heroes, helping to make available to the general public through all mainstream media outlets: i.e. online book distributors, bookstores, etc.
To become a part of this project, please contact us via email at nwfireblog@comcast.net and provide the following information:
– Your name, rank, agency. contact information [phone, email address, best way to reach you or your agency/team]. Describe your level of involvement, brief [1-3 sentences] encounter on incident. i.e. Member of Urban Task Force, Diver.
– State your interest: Story Contributor [we will interview you and share “your” viewpoint] or Volunteer Consultant [As consultant, you help us keep the book factual and by helping sort through various documents, etc.]
– We want to know why you want to be a part of this Project and what strengths you have to offer.
We know there will be many working parts to this project and we can only say in advance that we are so appreciative of the assistance we have received so far and know those who have stated their interest in this forum.
“Heroes Amongst Us” is a Tribute to the men and women who worked so hard to search, rescue and mesh together so well at Command, County, State, Federal levels. Unsung Heroes were created the moment this overwhelming disaster struck.
Again, we thank you all who sacrificed their time away from their jobs, families, friends to give so selflessly, show huge amounts of compassion and sharing your expertise with so many.
(c) 2014 The NW Fire Blog
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