Tucson Firefighters Rescue Three People From Rushing Floodwaters

Firefighters rescued three people from rushing floodwaters within about 30 minutes on September 14.

The first call came at 4:47 p.m. for a vehicle trapped near Calle Betelgeux and Avenida Sirio. Crews found the driver on the roof and used an aerial ladder to reach them.

At 5:01 p.m., another vehicle was swept toward Speedway Boulevard in Alamo Wash. Firefighters and a neighbor pulled the driver to safety.

A third call at 5:12 p.m. involved a person being swept near Grant Road and Wyatt Drive behind Tucson Medical Center.

Footage shows a firefighter in a yellow helmet descending an extended aerial ladder in a red rescue basket toward a motorist stranded on a car roof. A separate scene shows a white SUV jammed beneath a concrete underpass as floodwater rushes through.

Officials repeated the warning: “turn around, don’t drown.”