EMS Crews Remain In Louisiana for Hurricane Clean-Up
EMS crews who assisted with evacuations in New Orleans and surrounding regions remain on duty here as Hurricane Gustav clean-up operations get underway.
On Tuesday morning, personnel were deployed from their base camp at LSU in Alexandria, and ordered to report to Lafayette for further assignments.
Paramedics and EMTs with Lifecare in Fredericksburg, Va. hit the ground running when they arrived on Saturday.
"We first evacuated nursing home patients in Lake Charles to Dupont. Then, we helped move special needs people to Shreveport," explained Etta Chambers, the team leader.
One crew didn't get back to base until 7:30 a.m. Monday.
EMS personnel from across the country are being housed in two huge tents on the LSU campus in Alexandria. "They held up just fine despite the winds," she said, referring to Gustav that brought 65-75 mph winds.
Chambers, a paramedic, said early warnings from others who experienced Katrina were right on the mark. "They said it would be raining so hard it would appear to be raining from the top and sides and even from the bottom!"
That description was just what happened. "It was incredible."
When they got the word to move out Tuesday morning, officials told them to bring enough clothes for two or three days at the least.
The 22 member crew - activated Friday afternoon - has no idea how long their Louisiana detail will last.
"We've seen tiles and roofs blown off. Trees are all over the place, and there's a lot of debris."
As she was explaining the scene as they were headed to Lafayette, the cell signal was lost.
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