A Flooded Home, then a Flood of Help from Coworkers

The rains flooded more than roadways in San Diego County this week. A Probation employee reported his apartment got inundated Tuesday.

Frederick “Derek” Embalsado, a records clerk at the Juvenile Probation Center in Kearny Mesa, said he came home from work Tuesday to find serious flooding from the heavy rains. Water had come in through his back patio and pooled in his living room saturating the flooring. Furniture, personal belongings and even his computer were damaged.

What Embalsado did not know is that help from fellow probation coworkers was on the way. Deputy Probation Officer Sonia Ceballos called Embalsado to say she found some “muscle” to assist.

Within minutes, Ceballos arrived with Senior Probation Officer David O’Connor and Supervising Probation Officers Arturo Mejia and Jason Rasch. The group came with sandbags and quickly moved to fill and place them around the patio and at a second location to divert future water flow and prevent further property damage.

“I couldn’t explain my emotions at the time,” said Embalsado. “I was really very touched. It was just very heartwarming for them to lend a hand.”

Embalsado said his colleagues displayed the customer service motto of HEART—helpfulness, expertise, attentiveness, respect and timeliness—toward him and he can’t be thankful enough.

“They came at the right time and they all helped with heart,” he said.

Find sandbag locations and learn more about protecting your property on the ReadySanDiego El Nino page.