Orange County rescuers help the family find shelter in Lake Fairview Shores amid flooding in Milton

LAKE FAIRVIEW SHORES, Fla. – The Orange County Fire Department reportedly helped shelter a family early Thursday as Hurricane Milton flooded Lake Fairview Shores on its way out to sea.

According to fire officials, the family of four from the 2700 block of Hambleton Avenue were rescued by water.

News 6 anchor Ryan Welch visited the neighborhood and spoke with OCFR Lt. Brandon Allen, who said no one else wanted to evacuate.

“I think the floodwaters are knee high and have affected some of the streets in this area. We have contacted everyone we could in this neighborhood and no one wanted to evacuate at the moment. So we'll be checking back in the next hour or two as the water continues to rise and the weather is still affecting us. Allen said.

(RELATED: Track Milton: cones, models, more | Milton is one of the strongest hurricanes in the Atlantic | Download the FREE News 6 Hurricane app)

Welch was told everyone in the neighborhood was safe. Our cameras were rolling as the floodwaters gradually subsided and retreated to the side of the road and beyond.

Allen described the increased workload for first responders as hurricane calls stacked on top of otherwise unrelated service calls.

“It's extremely busy. Aside from the hurricane calls we're making right now, there are still just the regular emergency calls we receive on a daily basis. Medical emergencies still occur and house fires unrelated to the hurricane still occur. So it's hugely important to us that specialized teams like the Swift Water Team out here are able to handle some of these more dangerous operations,” Allen said. “(…) It seems like every hurricane we respond to now opens up a new place that poses a flooding risk. The first few years it was kind of in the Hope Circle area, during Ian we had it on the east side of town and that's kind of a new area for us when it comes to flood conditions so I think every storm we have something learn a little bit more about what we need to do.”

Important information about what to do before, during and after a flash flood can be found here: Click here.

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