Last month, Ohio Task Force 1 (OH-TF1) received mobilization orders to respond to Kentucky for rescue operations. Massive rainfall across Kentucky had triggered a state of emergency
declaration by Governor Andy Beshear and OH-TF1 was activated as a Type III team on Saturday, February 15, 2025.
The 47-member team, including two canines, arrived in Kentucky. The team was composed mostly of firefighters, as well as law enforcement personnel, structural engineers, communications specialists and a physician.
The team, including 67-year-old Vice Mayor and City Council Member Steve Beachler, spent three days conducting search and rescue missions. Beachler, a ground specialist assigned to the water rescue team, used boats and UTVs to access communities cut off by floodwaters.
“There were people without power in below-freezing temperatures and it was very dangerous,” said Beachler, the OH-TF1 Search Team Manager. “There was so much water and it was covering the roads, leaving us unsure of what’s ahead.” Beachler emphasized the team effort of the entire OH-TF1 crew.
A 1975 graduate of Miamisburg High School, Beachler started out as a part-time firefighter with the city of Miamisburg before becoming a land surveyor with Montgomery County Engineers Office. After nearly a dozen and a half deployments with OH-TF1, he realizes the end of his rescue career is near. When asked what keeps him going, Beachler simply said, “It’s just something I’ve always done.”
OH-TF1 returned home after six days in Kentucky.