While they are usually seen responding to flames, those at Beavercreek Fire Department are looking to do the opposite by helping Arkansans in Faulkner County combat water from recent flooding by providing sandbags to those in need.

Heavy rain has led to major flooding in areas throughout Arkansas and, with some help from the community, the fire department is fulfilling their motto of “Neighbor helping neighbor since 1980.”

Since May 22, the fire department has been providing sandbags and says it will continue to do so until they run out of sand or there is no longer any need.

The listed hours were from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. but many volunteers and workers went beyond that, some arriving as early as 5 a.m. while others stayed as late as 12:30 a.m.

Many community members have volunteered including UCA faculty as well as high school football teams from Greenbrier, Vilonia and Conway. Other fire departments such as those in Greenbrier, Wooster, Highway 286, Pine Village, Liberty and Vilonia are also lending a hand.

The Faulkner County Emergency Squad, which provides services such as water rescue, are also providing help with the sandbagging. The Faulkner County sheriff’s department also provided prisoners with a work release form to help with the process.

With more storms possibly on the way, volunteers may be working for some time, but those who were seen still filling sandbags during a storm last week plan to continue the job even while braving the weather.

“It was our honor to be able to serve the community at the capacity that we’ve been able to,” Beavercreek Fire Department assistant fire chief Jeff Sanford said..

While the first two days were for preparation, more than 800 volunteers filled over 75,000 sandbags throughout the next five days. However, there were times when a lack of volunteers left authorities struggling to keep up with the near non-stop chain of people in need.

“There have been times where it got slow on the [number of] volunteers and then we’d have a rush of people,” Sanford said.

Aside from volunteering, many other local businesses have provided things such as funds and shovels for the effort including local country music radio station, Y107, who has been broadcasting live from the area and getting the word out to those tuning in.

“We’re going to keep on keeping on as long as there is a need,” Beavercreek Fire Department Lt. Amanda Jolly said.