UPDATE: County Employees Trapped by Floodwater Refused Aid

UPDATED (9:54p.m.)—The five Baltimore County employees who initially looked threatened by rising floodwater Wednesday afternoon at a Cockeysville pumping station appear to have been safe all along.

The men were offered assistance by a police officer but refused to be helped.

It is unclear why the employees turned down the officer's assistance—which was witnessed by a Patch reporter—even though divers and boats were nearby after having executed another rescue of a man trapped in the U-Haul rental store off Beaver Run Lane.

The police officer asked the group if they were safe and if they needed assistance. The men, who appeared to be in good spirits despite being stuck on the small embankment most of the afternoon, stated that they were fine.

The officer pressed further, asking if the men wanted to get off the shrinking peninsula that was nearly surrounded in parts by 5 feet of water. The narrow part of land not surrounded by swift moving water led into thick woods. 

In unison, the men said "no." 

The officer shouted, "Time-and-a-half?" 

The men replied—again, in unison—"Yeah!" They then broke into laughter. 

The county employees were at the pumping station near the intersection of Beaver Run Lane and York Road on a regularly scheduled assignment to fix a pump, according to county spokeswoman Ellen Kobler. The men were unable to cross the deep water in their truck. The intersection was completely flooded by 3:30 p.m.

Kobler described the worker's comments as a lighthearted moment in an otherwise difficult situation.

She said that the men, even if rescued, would have to remain on the clock until they could retrieve the truck.

"These are responsible county employees waiting by their truck," Kobler said.

"They're in no immediate danger," Kobler said, adding that the county would likely wait until the stream receded before assisting them.

Kobler said the crew was described as "industrious" by Ed Adams, the director of the county's Department of Public Works.

"(Adams) said he's sure they'd find something to keep them busy," Kobler said.

The workers were eventually able to leave the area without the assistance of emergency personnel, she said.

Associate Regional Editor Bryan P. Sears contributed to this story.