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

A volunteer firefighter who used his own helicopter to rescue victims of Hurricane Helene was threatened with arrest while halfway helping an elderly couple.

Jordan Seidhom, a former police officer and volunteer firefighter, used his personal helicopter to reach those cut off from rescue teams after the devastating storm.

But as he was midway through the rescue of an elderly couple in Lake Lure, North Carolina, on Sunday, a top official from the local fire department told him he would arrest him for it.

Seidhom landed his two-seater plane in a parking lot after rescuing Susan Coffey from her home, leaving his own son Landon with her husband Michael at their remote property.

The plan was for Seidhom to get Susan to safety before returning to Landon and Michael in three separate trips before the firefighter threatened to have him arrested, he claims.

Seidhom had rescued an elderly woman, seen here, and planned to get her to safety before making the return trip for her husband – as he could only move one person at a time

Speak with WJZY, Seidhom said he landed in the parking lot after spotting a group of first responders.

When he landed, he said he was confronted by a fire chief who berated Seidhom for not coordinating with locally organized rescue efforts.

The plan was for Seidhom to get Susan to safety before returning for Landon and Michael. Michael and Susan are seen here

He said, “In the middle of the whole conversation, I was greeted by the Lake Lure fire chief, or maybe the assistant chief. And he shut down the whole operation.”

Seidhom said the official told him, “If you have that kind of experience, you need to coordinate with us.”

While trying to explain that he had been coordinating with law enforcement and rescue teams, he asked how he could stay in touch with the local FD.

Seidhom confirmed the senior firefighter’s identity to WJZY, but did not identify him by name. DailyMail.com is working to verify the man’s name.

Seidhom was then ordered to leave and not return, before explaining that he had to fly back over a stretch of land to recover his son and Michael – with his helicopter only able to accommodate one person at a time.

He continued: ‘He told me that I would not go back up the mountain to get them, but that I would leave them there.”

When he gave the man a reason why he shouldn’t go back to pick them up, he was told “you’re interfering with my operation.”

The man then told Seidhom, “If you turn around and go back up the mountain, you will be arrested. I said, ‘Well sir, I’m going back to get my co-pilot [his son]I don’t know what to tell you.’

Seidhom said the firefighter then called two other law enforcement officers who threatened him with arrest if he returned to pick up the two.

Seidhom’s helicopter that he used for the rescue efforts can be seen here

Before Sunday’s events, Seidhom and his son Landon had managed to rescue two flood victims who were staying in an Airbnb

After re-explaining his situation, one of the officers told him he “didn’t know what to do” if Seidhom ignored the warning and continued flying.

He added: “So at that moment I felt that if I came back with the victim, the other person would pressure him to arrest me, and then my son would have been left on the side of a mountain with this person to go. and save him.’

Seidhom was ordered by firefighters to return to a nearby provincial airport and wait for the Federal Aviation Administration to meet him.

Reluctantly, Seidhom got back into his helicopter, picked up his son and told Michael he couldn’t help him – for fear he would be arrested.

The fire brigade had told him that they would be able to rescue Michael within a few hours, even though it was only a three-minute flight for him.

Seidhom and his son then returned to Rutherford County Airport, where they waited three hours for the FAA.

Seidhom said, “I left Rutherford Airport. I knew at that moment that he had no jurisdiction.

“I was legal in what I did and followed all FAA guidelines and airspace guidelines. I was on private property.”

In this drone image, a marina is choked with debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Lake Lure

Thirty minutes after the arrest threat, a temporary flight restriction order was also executed over Lake Lure, right where he and the officer faced off.

He believes that the move to allow himself and other pilots to be expelled from the rescue zone endangers people’s lives.

‘There were other victims; As we flew away and left the area, we saw within 300 to 400 yards inside their location that they just couldn’t gain access to and were waving for help as my son and I left.

“I can only imagine what people were thinking. You are stranded for 24, 36 hours.

“You can’t talk to anyone, you don’t know what’s going on and you see a lifeline flying over and they keep going. I can only imagine what they were thinking.”

“I’m sorry, if I had to do it again I would have stopped and saved as many people as I could until they decided they were going to arrest me.”

Before Sunday’s events, Seidhom and his son Landon had managed to rescue two flood victims who were staying in an Airbnb.

In a post on social media, Michael Coffey later said he had to swim across the river to safety, but that he and his wife are now safe, as is their cat Cleo.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Lake Lure Fire Department for comment.