Man Said He Only Had ‘5 Minutes Left’ as He Clung to Tree amid Flood, 911 Call Reveals. He Died, While Wife Survived

A former Texas volunteer firefighter who died after he clung to a tree during the horrific July 4 flooding disaster told a 911 dispatcher he was not going to survive the ordeal.

According to newly-released 911 calls by the Kerr Police Department, which were obtained by the Associated Press, Bradley Perry calmly told the dispatcher that the tree he was in “is starting to lean and it’s going to fall” before he asked if there was a helicopter “close.”

Perry said he saw his wife, Tina, and their RV wash away. Then, he said, “I’ve probably got maybe five minutes left.”

He did not survive, but miraculously, Tina did, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser created by loved ones.

Bradley, a former volunteer firefighter for League City, and his wife were camping in their RV in Kerrville when the rain-swollen waters rose early on July 4, friends Steven and Debbie Whatley previously told CBS affiliate KHOU.

In the interview with KHOU, the Whatleys said that Bradley, 49, told his friends around 5 a.m. local time that he was forced to climb atop a tree when water swept away the RV.

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Bradley was able to speak with his 18-year-old son, who said his dad was breathing in a “labored” manner as he told him, “I’m in a tree. Your mom is gone. I got to go,” according to the couple. Bradley wasn’t heard from again.

Tina was later found clinging to a tree and calling for help, the outlet reported. She was hospitalized for a broken rib and a punctured lung.

Bradley’s 911 call was one of the hundreds of 911 calls released by the police department on Thursday, Dec. 4, months after the disaster that killed more than 130 people, ABC News and CBS News reported. At Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls sleepaway camp located along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, 25 campers, two counselors and the camp’s director were killed by the rushing waters.

The released calls highlight the desperation and devastating choices many had to make quickly in the moment. One woman called 911 as the floodwaters approached her home near Camp Mystic, according to the AP.

“We’re OK, but we live a mile down the road from Camp Mystic and we had two little girls come down the river. And we’ve gotten to them, but I’m not sure how many others are out there,” she said.

Another woman who called from Camp Mystic told the dispatcher that water was “everywhere” and that they couldn’t move, the outlet reported.

“We are upstairs in a room and the water is rising,” she added. That woman called back later, asking how to get to the roof because the water was already so high. She then asked the dispatcher when help would arrive.

“I don’t know,” the dispatcher said. “I don’t know.”

“We want to caution the public that what you will hear on these calls is distressing. Some callers did not survive,” Kerrville Police Chief Chris McCall said in a video announcing the release on Thursday. PEOPLE has reached out to the department for the calls.

McCall noted that the first 911 call about the flooding in western Kerr County came in at 2:52 a.m. Only two 911 personnel were working at the time, according to the police chief. Over the next six hours, the police department’s 911 call center answered 435 calls.

“The Kerrville Police Department continues to hold the families, loved ones and friends of those lost on July 4th close to our hearts,” police said in the video’s caption. “If you or someone you know needs support, please remember that resources are available.”