S.I. Firefighters Aid Colleagues: Reaching Out to New Orleans

S.I. Firefighters Aid Colleagues
Reaching Out to New Orleans

Firefighters at Engine Co. 155 and Ladder Co. 78 in Staten Island hosted a special lunch March 23 for a contingent of New Orleans firefighters and their wives.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow BIG-CITY RELIEF: Timothy McConnell (left), District Chief for the New Orleans Fire Department, Captain Nick Felton and Local 632 Second Vice President Keith Noya proudly display the donation given to them by Staten Island firefighters to aid members of the New Orleans Fire Department who lost homes, cars and other possessions during Hurricane Katrina. At the end of the meal, the Staten Island firefighters presented the group with a check for $18,000, earmarked for rebuilding the homes that many New Orleans firefighters lost during Hurricane Katrina.

A Centennial Surplus

Don Ruland, Staten Island Trustee for the Uniformed Firefighters' Association, said the funds had been raised last year as part of a centennial celebration to mark the Fire Department's presence in the borough.

Several firefighters from Staten Island were among those sent by the Fire Department to New Orleans after the floods receded. When the firehouse realized it had a surplus of $18,000 after marking its centennial, members agreed it should be donated to the New Orleans fire union's rebuilding fund.

"There were some handshakes today among the guys who had met down in New Orleans," said Mr. Ruland. "A lot of the NOLA firefighters had to continue working and handling emergencies when they were missing their own family members. Our guys were with them through some of that and there's a bond between them because of it."

A separate group of New Orleans firefighters was in town two weeks ago to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade down Fifth Ave.

'Generosity Tremendous'

Capt. Nick Felton, president of New Orleans Firefighters' Association Local 632, said it was difficult to give his team vacation time due to inadequate staffing, but that many of them needed a quick break. Members do multiple shift swaps, he said, to free up a few days to come to the city. Another group was expected to stop in for a short trip this week.

"This lunch has been unbelievable, here at the Hot Corner, as these guys call their house, and the firefighters put out a beautiful spread of food, and once again I'm almost overwhelmed by their generosity," said Captain Felton. "New York's firefighters have always been there for us, just like we've been there for them. This is tremendous, we thank them and everybody involved in this operation, from Chiefs all the way down."

According to Captain Felton, approximately 80 percent of New Orleans's nearly 800 firefighters lost their homes, cars and other possessions during Hurricane Katrina and the floods that ensued when the city's levees broke. He noted that unlike several other first-responder agencies in the region, none of his members had gone AWOL during or after the storm.

"We've had about 40 members leave the department since Katrina. Most of them were senior guys close to retirement, but a few whose families had been taken to other cities were able to transfer into those fire departments, and they had to go," said Captain Felton. "I had one young kid crying to me, he was so heartbroken about going, but he had a wife, three kids and one more on the way, and they'd all been trucked to Houston. So he knew he had to be with them."

No Health Care Yet

The city hasn't recovered much of its infrastructure yet, and many families have opted not to uproot their kids a second time to return. Only 21 schools have reopened, and there's no health care available except for a makeshift emergency hospital set up for first-responders. Serious injuries would have to be air-lifted out to hospitals in nearby cities like Baton Rouge.

New Orleans firefighters have worked nearly around the clock for many months, Captain Felton said. Serious fires have increased by about 75 percent, up to about 55,000. Many of them were caused by electrical shorts when people returned to damaged homes and switched on the lights.

The New Orleans Fire Department has also begun a behavioral health program that monitors firefighters and their families for signs of serious emotional distress. Captain Felton said it was important to get his members the assistance they needed if they showed signs of being overwhelmed by the scope of the disaster.

"The local government, the state government and the Federal government failed us," he said. "While we understand the bureaucracy involved, that's entirely too much failure to comprehend."

This is not the first time FDNY members have donated cash to the New Orleans department. The UFA led other unions after Hurricane Katrina in donating $100,000 to the International Association of Fire Fighters' Disaster Relief Fund.