BayouGirl
9-21-12, 12:47am
I moved to the small town where I live, just in time to get hit by hurricane Gustav. My friends here are all longtime members of the local volunteer fire department and as the storm approached they opened a shelter, check on shut in people to make sure they were taken care of an accounted for, got busy with organizing a relief effort an still ran medical and accident calls. They were more than happy to have me join them and I was quickly caught up in everything.
So we ran a shelter for 3 days, including providing hot meals to over a hundred people 3 times a day. We also had a relief supply distribution center at the fire house which gave out water, ice, tarps, MREs, some cleaning supplies and over 1200 hot meals each day. Most of this was done in the burning sun with no electricity or running water for our badly needed showers at night. People bathed in pools, creeks and under the fire hose in a makeshift shower created with tarps. It was rather chilly water but the water pressure was enough to knock you off your feet!!
Our relief distribution shelter was the first one up and running in our parish (Louisiana has parishes, not counties) because our members went and got the supplies with their own truck and gas, rather than waiting for the gov't to send them to us. We sped up the distribution process by having people drive up and we would load the supplies in their trunks. That kept our site safe from injuries and kept the area from getting crowded.
That was about 4 years ago and I have remained as a member of the fire department and have become a certified first responder. I have worked the scenes of some of our worst accidents, tragedies and thankfully only a few murders and suicides. Sometimes there is nothing you can do but comfort the victims family and ensure that the deceased are handled for with dignity and loving care. Other times, we are called to a drowning and spend many days using our own boats and taking vacation time from work to be able to help recover the body of someone who drowned and needs to be found so that their family can at least have their loved one be able to have a proper burial.
Luckily, many of our calls are just medical calls where we respond to the scene and get the patients ready to be transported by the ambulance crew from the hospital 30 miles away. We are on all 24 hours a day. I don;t have money to give to causes that I believe in but I do feel that I can contribute by giving my time and efforts.
So we ran a shelter for 3 days, including providing hot meals to over a hundred people 3 times a day. We also had a relief supply distribution center at the fire house which gave out water, ice, tarps, MREs, some cleaning supplies and over 1200 hot meals each day. Most of this was done in the burning sun with no electricity or running water for our badly needed showers at night. People bathed in pools, creeks and under the fire hose in a makeshift shower created with tarps. It was rather chilly water but the water pressure was enough to knock you off your feet!!
Our relief distribution shelter was the first one up and running in our parish (Louisiana has parishes, not counties) because our members went and got the supplies with their own truck and gas, rather than waiting for the gov't to send them to us. We sped up the distribution process by having people drive up and we would load the supplies in their trunks. That kept our site safe from injuries and kept the area from getting crowded.
That was about 4 years ago and I have remained as a member of the fire department and have become a certified first responder. I have worked the scenes of some of our worst accidents, tragedies and thankfully only a few murders and suicides. Sometimes there is nothing you can do but comfort the victims family and ensure that the deceased are handled for with dignity and loving care. Other times, we are called to a drowning and spend many days using our own boats and taking vacation time from work to be able to help recover the body of someone who drowned and needs to be found so that their family can at least have their loved one be able to have a proper burial.
Luckily, many of our calls are just medical calls where we respond to the scene and get the patients ready to be transported by the ambulance crew from the hospital 30 miles away. We are on all 24 hours a day. I don;t have money to give to causes that I believe in but I do feel that I can contribute by giving my time and efforts.