Volunteer firefighter who rushed to help Hurricane Helene victims is threatened with arrest

A unpaid firefighter utilizing his ain chopper to thief prevention Hurricane Helene victims was threatened pinch an apprehension while halfway done helping an aged couple. 

Jordan Seidhom, a erstwhile bull and unpaid firefighter, has been utilizing his individual chopper to scope those trim disconnected from rescue teams pursuing nan devastating storm.   

But while halfway done rescuing an aged mates successful Lake Lure, North Carolina, connected Sunday, a elder charismatic pinch nan section occurrence section told him he would apprehension him for doing so.

Seidhom brought his two-seater craft down successful a parking batch aft rescuing Susan Coffey from her her home, while leaving his ain boy Landon pinch her hubby Michael astatine their isolated property. 

The scheme had been for Seidhom to return Susan to safety, earlier past returning for Landon and Michael successful 3 abstracted trips, earlier nan occurrence charismatic threatened to person him arrested, he has claimed. 

Speaking pinch WJZY, Seidhom said he touched down successful nan parking batch aft spotting a group of first responders. 

When he landed, he said he was confronted by a occurrence main who scolded Seidhom for not coordinating pinch nan locally organized rescue efforts. 

He said: 'In nan mediate of nan full conversation, I was greeted by nan Lake Lure occurrence chief, aliases adjunct chief, maybe. And he unopen down nan full operation.'

Seidhom said that nan charismatic told him 'if you person that benignant of acquisition you should beryllium coordinating pinch us'. 

While trying to explicate that he had been coordinating pinch rule enforcement and rescue teams and asked really he could enactment successful touch pinch nan section FD. 

Seidhom confirmed nan elder firefighter's personality to WJZY but did not sanction him. DailyMail.com is moving to verify nan man's name. 

Seidhom was past ordered to time off and not return, earlier he explained he had to alert backmost complete a conception of onshore to retrieve his boy and Michael - pinch his chopper only capable to accommodate 1 much personification astatine a time.

He continued: 'He told maine I wasn't going to spell backmost up nan upland to get them, I was going to time off them there.'

When he pushed nan man for a logic arsenic to why he should not spell backmost to cod them, he was told 'you're interfering pinch my operation'. 

The man past told Seidhom: 'If you move astir and spell backmost up nan mountain, you're going to beryllium arrested. I said, 'Well, sir, I'm going backmost to get my copilot [his son], I don't cognize what to show you'.'

Seidhom said nan occurrence charismatic past called complete 2 different rule enforcement officers who threatened him pinch apprehension should he return to prime up nan two. 

After explaining his business again, 1 of nan officers told him he 'didn't cognize what do' should Seidhom defy nan informing and proceed flying. 

He added: 'So, astatine that point, I felt for illustration nan different personification was going to unit him to apprehension maine erstwhile I travel backmost pinch nan unfortunate and past my boy would person been near connected nan broadside of a upland pinch this personification to spell and rescue him.'

Seidhom was told to return a adjacent a region airdrome by nan occurrence charismatic and hold for nan Federal Aviation Administration to meet pinch him. 

Reluctantly, Seidhom sewage backmost successful his chopper and picked up his boy and told Michael he was incapable to thief him - complete fears he would beryllium arrested. 

The occurrence officials had told him they would beryllium capable to rescue Michael wrong a fewer hours, while it was conscionable a 3 infinitesimal formation for him.

Seidhom and his boy past returned to Rutherford County Airport wherever they waited connected nan FAA for 3 hours. 

Seidhom said: 'I did time off nan Rutherford Airport. I knew astatine that constituent he had nary jurisdiction.

'I was ineligible successful what I was doing, and I was pursuing each FAA guidelines and airspace guidelines. I was connected backstage property.' 

Thirty minutes aft of nan apprehension threat, a impermanent formation regularisation bid was besides implemented complete Lake Lure, correct wherever he and nan charismatic faced off. 

He believes that nan move to person himself and different pilots pushed retired of nan rescue area put peoples lives astatine risk. 

'There were different victims; arsenic we were flying retired leaving nan area, we spotted wrong 300, 400 yards wrong their location that they conscionable could not get entree to that were waving for thief arsenic my boy and I were leaving.

'I tin only ideate what nan group were thinking. You've been stranded for 24, 36 hours. 

'No measurement to speak pinch anyone, you don't cognize what's going connected and you spot a lifeline alert complete and they support going. I tin only ideate what they were thinking'.

'I'm sorry, if I had to do it complete again, I would person stopped and I would person rescued arsenic galore group until they decided they were going to apprehension me.' 

Prior to nan events of Sunday, Seidhom and his boy Landon had managed to prevention 2 flooding victims who had been staying astatine an Airbnb. 

In a station to societal media, Michael Coffey later said that he had to aquatics crossed a stream to safety, but him and his woman are now safe arsenic good arsenic their feline Cleo.  

DailyMail.com has approached nan Lake Lure occurrence section for comment.