Jordan Seidhom, a former South Carolina law enforcement officer and volunteer pilot, faced threats of arrest from local authorities while conducting rescue missions for flood victims in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. Despite his experience and prior coordination with emergency services, Seidhom was stopped by the Lake Lure Fire Department chief during a rescue operation, who claimed he was interfering with their efforts.
“I thought, I have a helicopter, maybe I can help,” Seidhom told local outlet Queen City News. “Once we landed where emergency personnel were, I was met by a fire chief or maybe a captain, and he asked me who I was. I told him who I was, who I was with, just a local volunteer.”
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He continued:
[The fire chief] originally asked me who I was. I gave him the same information, who I was with, my background experience, law enforcement, and firefighting. And his response was, if you have that kind of experience, you should know that you should be coordinating with us. And I said, I’ve been coordinating with everybody as I’ve been here just the day before, speaking with local law enforcement, other rescue personnel.
[…]
He said, ‘If you turn around and go back up the mountain, you’re going to be arrested.’ I said, ‘Well, sir, I’m going back to get my copilot, I don’t know what to tell you.’”
After successfully rescuing multiple stranded individuals with his son, Seidhom was warned that he would be arrested if he attempted to rescue a husband left behind. A temporary flight restriction was placed on the area shortly after, but he returned the following day to resume his rescue efforts the following day.
“I’m sorry, if I had to do it over again, I would have stopped and I would have rescued as many people until they decided they were going to arrest me,” he told the outlet.
This incident has sparked criticisms regarding governmental response to the disasters across the southeastern states and the treatment of civilians trying to assist in rescue operations. Many argue it exemplifies a failure of local authorities to prioritize immediate lifesaving efforts over bureaucratic procedures.
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