Standing with Bat Cave & Chimney Rock Fire Departments

The night Hurricane Helene ripped through Western North Carolina, even the most dire weather warnings could not prepare the small mountain communities of Bat Cave and Chimney Rock for what was coming for them.

Catastrophic flooding surpassed anything seen in over a century. 

Roads disappeared. 

Homes and businesses, washed away. 

The power grid failed. Cell towers, too. 

911 could not be reached.

No backup was coming.

The load landed on the sturdy shoulders of firefighters.

In Bat Cave and Chimney Rock, they rose to meet the moment. Volunteer firefighters became community heroes, doing all they could with all they had, even as they couldn’t fathom the devastation.

Eight months later, their work continues. Their needs linger. Recovery will take years.

We can help, if you’ll join us.

In June, our Fire Department Coffee Club and Fire Department Shirt Club lift up the Bat Cave and Chimney Rock volunteer fire departments. Every Coffee Club purchase sends $2 their way. Every Shirt Club purchase sends them $5. 

Together, we’re helping these firefighters answer the next call — just as they did on the hardest days of their lives.

Cut Off But Never Giving Up

The fire stations of Bat Cave and Chimney Rock sit just 2.4 miles apart, tucked into a mountainous area known to the locals as Hickory Nut Gorge.

On normal days, before the hurricane, firefighters might respond to a medical emergency or a car accident. They might track down wayward hikers or execute a swift water rescue on the Broad River. In these mountains, the landscape itself can be as dangerous as the emergencies.

Hurricane Helene took all the usual calamities and amplified them beyond imagination.

It brought torrential rain, wind, floods, and landslides. The Broad surged over its banks, collecting homes, businesses, automobiles, and anything else in its path.

Standing in his home as the storm arrived, Bat Cave Fire Chief Stephen Freeman felt a jolt and assumed a tree had fallen on the roof. He walked to the kitchen and stopped, frozen in disbelief. A vehicle he’d parked on what he believed to be high ground had slid down the mountain, stopping only when it reached his door.

He stepped outside as another vehicle, a Ford Ranger, came sliding down, too, skidding and flipping onto its hood. Soon after, the storm collapsed Freeman’s garage, pinning him against a backhoe. He freed himself after a perilous moment and found his wife watching. Relief poured over her face. They moved to a safe spot and waited, together, as the storm ravaged their mountain.

“It took me three days to walk to the station because I was dealing with the people in my area,” he said. “It was the same with other firefighters. They were spread out high and low. We all took care of the areas that we could.”

In Chimney Rock, things were no better.

“We were cut off,” said Chief Chris Melton, a 25-year veteran firefighter. “You had to come up with a response on the fly — Lone Ranger stuff.”

For every new challenge, firefighters improvised a solution. They commandeered four-wheelers and anything that could make it through the mud or over the fallen trees. They rescued stranded neighbors. They evacuated the injured and the elderly. 

When firefighters reached their stations, those stations became lifelines. Not just for emergency response, but for survival. Generators powered everything. Residents brought what food they could gather from their battered homes and cooked for whoever appeared at the stations.

“My assistant chief lost his home, his shop, everything he owned,” Melton said. “But he stayed and did his job.” 

Weeks passed before anyone could make a call on their cellphone. Power remained out for 33 days. Through it all, first responders carried on the endless task of digging out so that one day they could build back.

Eventually, the floodwaters receded. The calendar flipped. The nation’s eyes turned elsewhere.

In these mountains, the impact of that storm is still felt every day.

The Road to Recovery is Far From Over

Bat Cave and Chimney Rock remain in the fight.

Firefighters grapple with the financial and emotional losses of homes and businesses there one day, gone the next.

Essential equipment, lost or mangled in the storm, needs replacing.

Some roads have yet to re-open. Necessary detours can turn a five-minute drive into an hour-long journey.

Volunteers still answer calls every day. The work never stopped, even as their lives were upended.

That’s why this collaboration matters.

These funds help them recover, rebuild, and continue doing their important work.

Always Prepared. Always Ready.

June marks the first time that our Fire Department Coffee Club and Fire Department Shirt Club have collaborated with volunteer fire departments. We could have not picked two more deserving groups.

On the shirt and the coffee bag are the words “Prepared to Serve. Ready to Act.” 

They were. They are.

The design incorporates iconic imagery celebrating the firefighters of Bat Cave and Chimney Rock. In the foreground, a fierce, firefighting bat is flying to the scene. In the background is Chimney Rock itself, the geologic formation that gives the town its name. Atop the summit, an American flag waves in the breeze, standing through the storm.

Against the navy blue shirt, the design is guaranteed to grab attention and let people know you support these Western North Carolina firefighters. 

And the coffee?

You’re going to love this blend of premium Brazilian and Indian beans. It’s a bold, dark roast with rich, earthy tones of dark chocolate and clove. 

It’s a taste that evokes the mountains and the people it celebrates.

With every sip, you’re honoring the volunteers who stared down a once-in-a-lifetime storm and then led their communities safely to the other side of danger.