Dalton firefighters respond with GSAR Task Force to help with Kentucky flood response

Published 8:15 am Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Two Dalton firefighters are part of a Georgia Search and Rescue (GSAR) task force responding to a flooding emergency in rural Kentucky. GSAR Task Force 6 responded to Nelson County, Kentucky, on Saturday. At last report Monday morning, the task force had rescued or otherwise assisted 44 residents since its arrival.

Captain Jason Harris and Firefighter Byron Miranda from the Dalton Fire Department are among the 25 firefighters from GSAR Task Force 6 who are responding in Kentucky. Both are certified as level two swift water rescue technicians, and Harris is the DFD’s special operations lead for water rescues.

As of Monday morning, conditions in some parts of Nelson County had improved, with roads in the New Haven area reopened. Two teams from Task Force 6 were still operating Monday near Boston, Kentucky, while two others have been sent to Bullitt County, Kentucky, to support rescue and evacuation efforts there.

The Task Force 6 group deployed in Kentucky also includes firefighters from Bartow County, Carroll County, Catoosa County, Gordon County, Haralson County, Walker County and the cities of Bremen, Calhoun, Cartersville, Chatsworth and Dalton. The task force is responding along with units of the National Guard in Bardstown, New Haven and Boston in Nelson County.