Community Relations Firefighters Aid Hurricane Victims
Release Date: November 9, 2005
Release Number: 1606-064
» More Information on Texas Hurricane Rita
AUSTIN, Texas -- Where there is heartbreak, hope appears-recently in the uniform of firefighters from across the land as they administered aid to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Community Relations (CR) outreach.
On Sept. 11, 2005, Team Fort Worth CR firefighters at the Will Rogers Fort Worth Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) overheard a conversation and questioned family members. Four victims had been trapped in their home in New Orleans for two weeks since Hurricane Katrina. The information was passed up the chain. Less than one hour passed from the time the CR firefighters heard the conversation and the local authorities in New Orleans rescued the victims, two of whom were quadriplegic and two of whom were elderly. State and local police reported that the two elderly victims probably would not have survived another day trapped in the attic. All of them had been drinking contaminated water.
"Experiences such as this were possible because our CR firefighters are highly trained in emergency medicine, stress management and multi-tasking," James Johnson, incident commander of the firefighters, said. "They have a vast knowledge and understanding of incident management. They face customer relations issues in emergency scenarios every day and are willing to do whatever, whenever, no matter how long it takes to help those in need."
While working Hurricane Rita, several busses of elderly care patients arrived at a shelter. CR firefighters worked three consecutive 24-hour shifts to ensure that all patients were unloaded safely and given a safe place to stay. During this time they helped bathe and clean the patients. They also helped to change their soiled clothing and provided clean linens. They made sure that each patient had a bed in which to sleep.
As they distributed CR flyers, two firefighters made contact with persons occupying a home in High Island, Texas. They found the male patient experiencing shortness of breath. After administering the patient's medication, the firefighters learned that the victim's generator had been stopped for 24 hours. The firefighters also found that the patient's wife was unable to take prescribed treatments and was disoriented and unable to form words. The oxygen generator in the room was useless without power. The victim's generator was working again after the team replaced the spark plugs, freed the motor and jump-started the generator.
CR firefighters helped remove trees from driveways of residences. They distributed food and water and addressed special needs of those who could not otherwise provide for themselves. On several occasions they used their emergency medical training by performing EMT or Paramedic functions, both in the field and in the DRCs.
They helped the elderly and disabled receive wheel chairs, eye glasses, dentures and various medications and they coordinated home doctor visits for bedridden patients.
CR firefighters helped reunite several families through the help of the American Red Cross and other agencies located in the DRCs. Two CR firefighters interceded on a possible suicide.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 09-Nov-2005 11:38:12