I was in Gulfport, Mississippi just a few months ago for the illness of my father, which then caused me to travel with my family to New Orleans and Mandeville, LA for the funeral. I found the people, especially in Mississippi, to be friendly and outgoing. They were so nice to all of us during our time of sorrow, that I promised them that should they ever need my services, I would be there for them. Little did I know that my promise would be fulfilled so soon.
Hurricane Katrina came ashore on Monday, August 29, 2005.
We all know the basic facts. What I want to share is OUR story. I can’t speak of everything that did or did not happen, but what I hope to do is to tell the story as seen by a rescue team, so that anyone reading this can get an idea of what happened in our little slice of the disaster. After seeing some of the press reports, I can tell you that it is both worse and better than what you see on the news. The press has gotten some things wrong, and has outright fabricatred others. I would like to set that straight. I will break this into parts, so that it will be more readable.
We received an order to stand by at around noon on Tuesday the 30th. We were given mobilization orders at 2:00 p.m. and we were on our way to Tallahassee to meet up with the rest of the forces by 3. I didn’t even get time to pack, as I was at work when the order came. We arrived in Tallahassee at around 9:30 and we were asked to sign in and had to show copies of our certifications. We were allowed to take showers, but there was no food left, so we had to go out to find something.
After dinner, we explored the staging area a little. Looking around the fairgrounds that were being used as a staging area, there were dozens of large trucks loaded with supplies ranging from forklifts to drinking water, all headed to the disaster area. While our command staff met and was briefed, we all tried to get some sack time. It was hard to sleep in the warehouse we were housed in, as there were nearly 200 people in there, trying in vain to sleep under bright lights on top of stiff cots, as others came and went as they checked in and out.
Five in the morning came early, as we got up and prepared to move out. We were broken into task forces that were mission specific, so that we could be more easily managed. There were Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Teams, Firefighting teams, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) teams, Logistical teams, command teams, and many others. As a firefighter and Paramedic, I wasn’t sure what I would be doing. As it turns out, my group was assigned to an EMS team. USAR teams had been deployed on Tuesday and were serving as scout teams to let us know what was needed.
In no time, we moved out in a long convoy consisting of a firefighting team, an EMS team, a command group and a group of police officers for security. Our column of vehicles was over a mile long, and I counted over 100 vehicles, before losing sight of the head of the column. We sped into the unknown, each of us apprehensive about what we would find when we got there.
I just got home from the deployment, so I am going to bed. I will finish this later.
Report from a rescuer
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