Christmas Volunteer Fire Fighter

A few installments over the next 9 days - all will be here.
1/1/08
Today was spent working at the chief's house putting a partition in a shed, finishing a retaining wall and filling in some holes. Nothing too serious but with a gang of people it wasn't so bad. A few less items for him to have to worry about.

We got a call for a sick person - unknown problems early this morning. When we got there a woman was outside and claimed that somehow the guy inside was unresponsive. While the crew is on the porch in front of the trailer, a black guy comes up and says the guy inside just called him a little while ago and seemed fine. I didn't notice it but the gal left the house after we got in with her bra in her hand and had gotten her purse out of the bedroom.

She left with the black guy that I had spoken too. Just another fine day in Pearlington. Oh the guy seemed fine once the crew was able to talk to him. I think he had placed an order for something other than pizza but I'm just guessing.

12/31
I spent all day cleaning tools and stenciling them. There are four fire fighters down from just north of Philadelphia and we are able to accomplish a lot just by putting elbow grease to work.

This evening we got a call for a wreck and the address given was HWY 604 an 90 which is just 1/2 mile down the road. We get down there and don't see anything. The actual address was 10 miles east at 607 and Hwy 90. A Jeep Cherokee ran off the right side of the road and into the trees where he naturaly stopped.

He wasn't injured but the sheriff was running him through fine screen since he had a 9 page criminal history, no license and no insurance (Welcome to Hancock County where laws are regarded as suggestions). The sheriff thought he had thrown some stuff in the ditch and we spent a good amount of time looking for it but I purposely didn't want to find it since that might make me have to go to court. I don't know if I could get court time for that or would have to take vacation so I just kind of stood back and let everyone else look.

This group is cooking meals so I took them to Gulfport yesterday and we spent over $400 on food for 7 days. I think they bought heavy but it beats eating fried food every day. I picked up a pork loin to cook. This one is pre-seasoned with lemon pepper and I hope its as good as the last. I am still getting compliments on that. I need to copy my scratch recipe and show these people I really can cook. I already had a discussion with one lady who thought it was her husband who cooked it.

Weather is warm today and hopefully the rest of the week.

Just as I was getting ready to hit send, we got alerted for an elderly lady with her foot caught in a bed rail. naturally I expected to find a lady laying in bed stuck but she was in a scooter and had run her foot over the rail and then it fell slightly. This was just enough to get her stuck in her chair. There was no way she could move at the angle she was at.

Using engineering tricks not taught in any university, we helped her stand and get into a lower chair then held her foot up and moved the bed and suddenly she was free.

12/25
I woke up to the sound of rain beating on the double wide this mornining. Shortly after that the Kiln got alerted for a house fire. It didn't take long before they started to scream for more tankers including specifically West Hnacock's. Having been up already I was out the door by the time the tones went off.

I had to wait a few minutes for another person, but we headed out in under 5 minutes I think. The tanker is slow to get rooling since it has 2,000 gallons of water. Being heavy I didn't want to go very fast out to the interstate. There isn't a lot of room to manuver. The road has no shoulders and ditches on both sides so you have to be a good judge of speed. there are only two curvew but the tanker has a lot of sway.

Finally got up to the interstate and could run wide open which is 69.5 mph. People are still screaming for water and tankers are having problem keeping up with the flow etc. Its starting to sound like a real cluster but I am maxed out and there is nothing I can do to get there any quicker.

When we hit the 603 exit the Chief from Kiln is calling for ETA's and people are saying its getting hot. The guy with me wants to call for directions. I told him not to worry we go to the Jordan Shores development and look for all the blinking lights. That's where the party will be.

The house was a cape cod style 1.5 story w/ dormers, ordinary construction. When we turned off there was a big column of smoke but 5 minutes later it seemed fairly well knocked down. They hook me up to the ladder pipe and I give him 2,000 gallons in under 2 minutes. The chief is still screaming for water. I counted two hose lines. The entire front of the house is burned off including the roof. I double checked to make sure everyone was out before pumping the tower.

I knew I should have taken my camera.

According to the owner, the Christmas lights or outlet shorted out and set off the vinyl siding. That seems about right given the weather as i woke up. It was a rebuilt home since the storm. The owner said the outlets were explosion proof (I'm guessing that't redneck talk for ground fault). Either it malfunctioned or they were not ground faults. Its hard to say.

12/23
All is well here. The engine and tanker have had some nice organizational work done. Thecross lays are now 1.75" brand new blue hose. Still canvas but they are gradually making headway. The rescue tools have been placed in a wooden box and there are two sets. The only problem is they are sitting working end up so you have to grab the cuttind edges. Its a little hard to get to but it should work. Daryl is going to look at teh box and see if he can rebuild it so the handle sits up.

They are going to have a big party here tomorrow with lots to eat. I have offered to cook a pork loin.

I'll keep you posted daily or more frequent if anything exciting happens. I got my gear all set so now we just need the tones.

West Hancock Fire and Rescue

From a volunteer out of AZ who toured the FD because of another volunteer who is very partial to WHFR. She is sending this letter out to everyone she can think of. Please help her. This isn't the only fire department in need down there. They are all in similar situations. This will also be the Letter of The Week coming soon for you to send to your local church groups, FDs, county emergency services coordinators.

I just became aware of this situation and wanted to share it with you, as it is critical. I also find it astonishing as we are a year and a half post-Katrina. I am hoping that you can help me rally assistance for these firefighters so that this vital community component can stabilize and rebuild. Please share this with any firefighters, churches, first responder & medical personnel, foundations or individuals you know who may be willing to reach out to this community. They have already lost so much. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any additional questions that you may have:

The West Hancock Fire Rescue is the first responder to 18 miles of US Interstate-10 and is responsible for the emergency response to an industrial port - Port Bienville, in Mississippi – in addition to handling the wide range of emergency calls that come in to assist the residents of both Pearlington and West Hancock County. Pearlington was Ground Zero for Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. The town and its residents lost 100% of their buildings. The neighboring cities in Hancock County were also virtually wiped out, so they cannot help remedy this situation.

West Hancock Fire Rescue is a 100% volunteer department. The doors that they used to knock on for donations are all now gone, although many of the residents remain as they try to rebuild. The fire department is ineligible for grant monies because they do not have the 10% match of funds required to receive grants. It will be two more years before their tax base is rebuilt and they’re eligible for distribution of any local county funds. Meanwhile they have several complex situations they must be prepared for and respond to so that they can be there for their community.

As of today the West Hancock Fire Rescue Department has about a three week supply of fuel left. They have been donated several fire trucks from mid to small sized fire departments throughout the country. They will need assistance in sustaining a fuel supply in order to continue to be able to respond to emergency calls.

These firefighters are also in need of everything from basic response equipment and supplies on up to things such as an extraction tool, Haz Mat suits, a ram and VHF radios. They unfortunately do not have the funds to fix anything that needs even “just a little fixing”. As they stabilize and rebuild they are in need of their firefighter brothers and sisters, paramedics and EMT’s to come to the area and support them in responding to calls, as they have lost more than 60% of their department. They need help with funds to rebuild at least one of their two fire stations which were completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Every department member has lost their own home and struggles to juggle their paying jobs, rebuilding their own home and responding to the needs of a community that has already lost so much.

I know that the men and women of West Hancock Fire Rescue are so grateful for the outreach they have received in the weeks and months after Hurricane Katrina. They are determined to move themselves and their community past this situation. The reality is that they are in great need of physical and financial support in order to stabilize and rebuild - in what has now become an extraordinary situation, on top of an extraordinary situation. Today they deploy to their calls out of a trailer with the limited firefighting and rescue equipment that they have.

The immediate priorities of the West Hancock Fire Rescue are as follows. (Any and all support that you are able to provide in remedying this critical situation will be greatly appreciated.)
1- Fuel (gasoline and diesel) – $1,900 at per month x 24 months
2- EMT and Medic Supplies – The needs are various and ongoing until the community & department are stabilized
3- Grant Match Support of $11,000 - Currently they have been approved for a Fire Grant and will remain eligible for only a short while longer unless they are able to provide the “match”. The $11,000 would be the required match to then receive a $110,000 Fire Grant that would be provided to them by the government to buy much needed Fire Safety and Prevention equipment.
4- Firefighting & Personal Safety Equipment – All of there equipment/assets were destroyed and need to be replaced. (Today this Fire Department does not even have one Jaws of Life. As you know this tool is critical to saving lives on Interstate-10 and in places that other serious auto accidents occur Delayed removal of victims from an automobile in a serious accident can literally be the difference between life and death. It will also greatly raise the moral of the department, so that they are not in a situation where they leave scene thinking “If only I’d had a Jaws…”)
5- Fire House Funds – The cost to rebuild the West Hancock Fire Station is $345,000
6- Firefighter, Paramedic & EMT Support – West Hancock Fire Rescue is in need of trained professionals to volunteer come to the area to help them respond to calls, they are currently down to 9 department members who are providing round-the-clock response to all of their calls. This is a Call to Action to all First Responder brothers and sisters everywhere who would be willing to spend a day, a weekend or more down in Pearlington at the West Hancock Fire Rescue. Your presence would be of great physical and emotional help to this department. (Please contact the Department directly via the information on their website - hyperlinked at the top of this page)
Donations can be made directly to the Department. They are a non-profit. Anyone that you know who is interested in helping out, can also contact me via email or phone as indicated below with questions, to request a list of needed supplies or to coordinate support to this department. I have gotten FedEx to agree to assist with free shipping to Pearlington for those willing to donate supplies or equipment to WHFR. Anyone needing help with shipping should contact me directly to facilitate this.

Suzanne Stahl
suzanneinmississippi@earthlink.net

Cell 602-791-7799
Office Direct 602-787-5356

Pictures of the FD
http://pearlingtonrelief.blogspot.com/2006/12/west-hancock-fire-and-rescue.html
Articles re: WHFR
http://pearlingtonrelief.blogspot.com/2006/10/west-hancock-vfd-getting-help.html
http://pearlingtonrelief.blogspot.com/2006/09/west-hancock-fd-struggles.html
http://pearlingtonrelief.blogspot.com/2006/07/fresh-eyes-ii.html

West Hancock Fire and Rescue

Thank you Gary for the photos! All photos herein are property of Gary McGinnis and copyrighted December, 2006.

A paid worker fell off a ladder and has been collared/boarded for transport to the hospital. His coworkers are there as well.

Nice Grouping.

A donated Engine. WOW. Great of departments to do this considering how MUCH these puppies cost. Call and ask your local FD to get an idea of the generosity.

EMA gave all emergency services a double wide to work out of. Not bad compared to the regular tuna cans...

One Tower/Ladder donated.

The New Rescue

A donated Tanker. Looks like a GREAT workhorse!

Another Ladder Truck





Another need discovered - DOT Level III Traffic cones. If anyone knows of any, please contact Leslie at KatrinaCoalition@aol.com