Students Thank Firefighters for Mudslide Response, Search

June 09--ROCKPORT -- The Rockport Fire Department was decorated with a new sign, flowers and some touching up to the yard over Memorial Day weekend. Following the Oso landslide March 22, the volunteer-only fire department -- one of the first to put boots on the ground at the disastrous scene -- deserved some recognition. A group of five Everett Community College students came together to make that happen. Everett College students Tamara Cowin, Riley Gaggero, Jake Smiley and Andress Gonzales drew up the idea to fulfill a class project requirement.

The small group communications class was instructed to "think about a cause that you find is worthy, and then go out into the community and find a way to help that cause and give back," Cowin said.

When the group learned that Gaggero's father, Ben Gaggero, is a Rockport firefighter and that the two of them immediately went to Oso following the slide, they decided to give back to the small-town department.

Riley Gaggero visits her dad often, and just happened to be in Rockport when the landslide occurred. She recalls her dad's fire department pager ringing, and hopping in their car, not thinking much of it.

No more than four emergency response vehicles were there when they arrived, and the scene shocked them, Riley Gaggero said.

"We saw that a whole mountain had come off the side," she said. "We didn't realize how big it was."

The landslide killed 42 people and destroyed dozens of homes, mostly centered on the Steelhead Haven neighborhood.

The Oso slide is the deadliest single landslide event ever in the U.S., excluding those caused by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes or dam collapses.

While the Gaggeros didn't know anyone from Oso personally, the disaster hit home, located no more than a 20-minute drive from Rockport.

"I drive past Oso every time I go up there, it's on our commute," Gaggero said."It's always been the most peaceful part of the drive and now it's completely destroyed, which is really sad."

Now the drive is scattered with yellow ribbons and signs, most of them reading "Oso strong."

When Gaggero shared her story, her classmates had never heard of the tiny town of Rockport and its volunteer fire department.They decided it deserved some recognition.

Within two weeks, they raised $210 for the cause, and gave the hard-working department its very own memorial sign. Cowin said a fifth student,Will Stoller, donated his time and art skills to paint the sign.

"We wanted them to know they were appreciated," Gaggero said.

Copyright 2014 - Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, Wash.