Tampa Bay-area firefighters assist in Houston

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Tampa Bay firefighters are navigating flooded Texas streets searching for stranded people following Tropical Storm Harvey.

The swift water rescue team arrived in Beaumont earlier this week, an area hit by heavy rain and flooding.

The team includes 25 firefighters from Tampa, St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County. The first responders are coordinating rescue efforts with local agencies responding to calls for service.

The Tampa Bay team helped rescue an elderly couple stuck inside a home Tuesday. 

"The woman recently had surgery and her mobility was very limited," Tampa Fire Rescue Captain Jeremy Finney told Fox 13 News over the phone.

Finney described seeing water "waist deep or deeper" in some areas. Residents trapped in homes and buildings are receiving help by boat.

According to Finney, more rain from Tropical Storm Harvey intensified safety concerns Tuesday.

" How the storm re-emerged, actually coming towards where we are hold up in a building ... there is standing water completely surrounding the arena that we're in," said Finney.. "if we didn't have the equipmentt that we've got we wouldn't have been able to get back from our rescue efforts."

The team is expected to remain in Texas until September 6, unless their services are needed in another location.