“It truly is rewarding.” Lexington firefighter returns from Hurricane Florence deployment.

A member of the Lexington Fire Department who returned home Tuesday after assisting with Hurricane Florence recovery in North Carolina said it was a great feeling helping out the community.

Capt. Ryan Hogsten has been involved with Ohio Task Force One since 2005. In that time, he has helped out with water rescues for 2008’s Hurricane Ike, Hanna and Gustav and 2016’s Hurricane Matthew. He encountered a lot more flooding than he was used to when his team was in Kinston, N.C., near Greenville.

When Hogsten’s 16-member team, made up of Kentucky and Ohio firefighters, arrived in Kinston, flood levels were already in the 9-foot range. At its crest, flood levels reached 25.5 feet, Kinston said.

The flooding occurred when the heavy rain brought by Florence caused the Neuse River to rise and take over parts of the area, according to ABC 11. The same river was flooded two years ago by Hurricane Matthew.

The hurricane has resulted in 36 deaths in North Carolina, including some in Lenoir County, where the team was stationed, according to media reports.

Hogsten called the experience a lot different than what he and the Kinston community deals with on a regular basis.

“They are still having to do their 911 services as well as swift water, which is not as common to them, which is why they asked for assistance,” he said.

The team stayed at the Sandy Bottom Volunteer Fire Department headquarters, where they were on call 24 hours a day doing night and day services.

Most of their duties entailed helping Lenoir County firefighters out with rescues and evacuations, and evaluating the structures, roadways and bridges to make sure they were safe, he said.

Hogsten said he saw a real sense of community while he was in North Carolina.

“You could tell North Carolina, just like any town in the south, they really take care of their people,” he said. “That’s probably the biggest thing I saw. Just a community coming together to help out.”

Hogsten was the lone member from his local department to assist with the Florence recovery through the FEMA-managed team.

He said the team that was sent to North Carolina, included firefighters from 13 departments who gelled together to make a difference in the area.

“It’s a great feeling to help out people. Everybody says that, but it truly is rewarding,” he said. “It’s rewarding to represent my community, to represent Ohio, to represent Lexington Fire and to be that helping hand. It really benefits everybody.”

Power was fully restored to all of Lenoir County by Monday, according to WNCT, but several businesses remained closed because of flooding.