| September
14, 2005:
Firefighters from Burlington
return home from the Gulf States after helping victims of Hurricane
Katrina
After 10 Days
in the Gulf area Assistant Chief Steve Yetman and Firefighter Paul
Sullivan returned home. The two Firefighters were chosen from a
pool of Burlington Firefighters who had volunteered to go to New
Orleans after FEMA requested personnel September 1. FEMA had
requested that local fire departments put together 2 man teams to fill
a need for 2000 firefighters in the Gulf Area. After
spending 2 days in training they were dispatched to shelters in the
San Antonio area. While there they went to several shelters,
some set up by local citizens, to assist with the processing of
numerous citizens, offering not only logistical support but also
moral support to many of the victims. The two reported that one
such shelter was over a 1/4 of a mile long, with lines almost as long.
Often they were helping the elderly and handicapped get information
and items such as credit cards from FEMA.
The two
returned home after FEMA informed them that their work at the shelter
had satisfied the victims’ immediate needs.
|
