Fire Chief Fordon Deployed To Kerr County After Flooding

KERRVILLE, Texas — John Fordon, Huntingdon’s fire chief, has dedicated most of his professional life to helping those in need. When disastrous floods hit Kerr County on July 4, Chief Fordon was ready to get to work.

Fordon joined 14 first responders and six canines from across the state to represent the Urban Search and Rescue Tennessee Task Force 1 (TN-TF1) in Texas on July 7.

TN-TF1 is a highly trained team of first responders from West Tennessee, led by the Memphis Fire Department and deployed by FEMA. Fordon is a logistics specialist on the team, responsible for setting up a base of operations, and a convoy driver. He also provides the team support with any equipment needs.
In Kerr County, Fordon supported the Canine Search Team - Human Remains Detection.

Fordon’s tasks included readying water for the canines, caring for the canines during breaks and setting up shelter from the heat. In the two weeks he stayed in Kerr County, he said temperatures ranged in the low to high 90s.

“Like humans, a dog’s nose is working constantly. They need breaks, too,” Fordon said.

Though they traveled into Texas together, Tennessee’s first responder team dispersed when they reached the disaster site. They vetted with members from the Texas task force team to see where they were most needed and combined forces with the 2,000 first responders from across the nation.

Fordon, a career first responder, joined Tennessee Task Force 1 in February 2024. He had been a firefighter at Illinois’ Elk Grove Village Fire Department for 31 years before retiring and moving to Carroll County in October 2023. He continued his service as a first responder at the Huntingdon Fire Department, being sworn in as Huntingdon’s fire chief in April 2025. He remains an active member of the Illinois task force.

Fordon was first deployed with the Illinois task force in 2005 following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. His mission in Kerr County was his eleventh deployment overall and his first with Tennessee.

Responding to natural disasters can be “very humbling,” said Fordon.

“I’m doing what I can to help something I have no control over,” Fordon said. “It makes you realize how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken away with little to no warning.”

First responders bear witness to immense levels of devastation. Brandy Baumgardner, a member of the Tennessee Disaster Mental Health Strike Team, said, “We have found that, over the years, the victims, first responders and citizens usually have some form of trigger/symptoms when a disaster like this pops up…The buried cars, the huge mudflow debris piles…even if someone has been making it okay, they can suddenly be in a downward spiral after seeing the media coverage of an event three states away.”

While Fordon and Baumgardner have not crossed paths in deployment, they share similar experiences. Fordon said that sometimes the only way to get through his emotions is to talk with fellow first responders.

“You know what you’re getting into when you sign up for this type of work,” Fordon said. “You know that when you meet people in this profession, they’re having a really bad day. Once the mission is over…whatever challenges you endured, you have to work through them. You can do that by talking to people and being understanding and respectful.”

Although the work is gruelling, it’s an undertaking that Fordon and thousands of Americans accept to help victims of mass destruction.

Different disaster events demand different types of responses. In some events, volunteers are necessary for recovery. In others, donations can do the heavy lifting.

“Depending on what the event is, sometimes it’s best to just step back and let first responders do what they need to do,” Fordon said.

In Kerr County, it was rumored that almost 800 volunteers showed up each day to help with search and rescue.

Fordon advised that there are certain channels to follow if interested in volunteering. Counties in need have volunteer areas in which they group people for tasks based on their capabilities.

July’s flooding event impacted over 100 miles of land throughout Texas. At least 135 people were found dead, with most found along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, according to an Associated Press report. In a statement, Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice credited search and rescue operations for the “remarkable progress” in locating missing people amid the destruction.

Three weeks into the search, more than 160 people previously unaccounted for have been found. Three people remain missing.