Fire Fighters Readied for Gustav’s Landfall

Nation’s First Responders will be on the Front Lines

Fire fighters across the Gulf Coast and specialty teams across the nation are preparing for the onslaught of Gustav, which is expected to pummel New Orleans and surrounding communities three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region.

“When Katrina made landfall three years ago, and the federal government failed everyone, fire fighters were there during and after the storms, rescuing tens of thousands from the floodwaters, even while their own families were evacuated to other cities and their property destroyed,” IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger said. “The IAFF was on the ground providing support to fire fighters then and we are there ahead of the storm this time.”

During the response to hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, many fire fighters in the coastal region remained on duty for more than nine straight days, without relief, many working out of heavily damaged stations with inoperable equipment. As much as 80 percent of the fire fighters in the region also suffered significant loss of property and their families were evacuated while they remained on the frontlines.

Prior to Gustav, hundreds of IAFF members that are part of search and rescue and logistical operations teams from cities across the country are staging in Atlanta and Houston as part of the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s coordinated response.

The IAFF is working closely with its state and local affiliates in the threatened states. A fire fighters relief center has been set up to house evacuated fire fighters and their families at Zoar Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. Additional relief center locations have been identified and will be opened if demand for alternative shelter for fire fighters in the region is needed.

The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in Washington, DC, represents more than 290,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics who protect 85 percent of the nation’s population. More information is available at www.iaff.org

Contacts

For International Association of Fire Fighters
Bill Glanz, 202-329-5856 (cell)
or
David Roscow, 202-487-4990 (cell)