LITMIR.BIZ

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the NOFD and people still trapped in New Orleans by staying where they were.

      U.S.A.R. teams from across the country were there, but they didn’t know the geographic layout of the city. A plan was discussed where one New Orleans Firefighter would go out with each U.S.A.R. team. Chief Lampard communicated his thoughts to NOFD brass, and they saw the wisdom of that idea. 11 of the 20 volunteered to stay and assist the U.S.A.R. teams. The next day, the remaining crews returned to the equally challenging fire duties at the NOFD complex at Woodlawn.

      “As I told you, to our distress and the distress of the U.S.A.R. teams, the planned searches were postponed until Saturday because of lack of security.” Joe started assisting with logistics working, with Chief Lampard to try to replenish NOFD equipment lost during Katrina. 22 of 33 engine houses were flooded along with many of their fire apparatuses. On Saturday, security had arrived, consisting of police and sheriffs from assorted agencies.

      Joe went with a U.S.A.R. team from Sacramento, California on a mission to check out a missing doctor and a priest who had ridden out the storm in his church in the area of the French Quarter. Thankfully, they were both fine and things weren’t as dire in that area as in other areas of the city. In the French Quarter, people could reach dry land a few blocks away. There were a lot of people in the area, but none were in imminent danger…from the flooding at least.

      “We arranged to have water and pallets of MREs airdropped in the yard of the church where the priest was to oversee distribution. They heard that the next day, airdrops were ceasing to that location and all locations…all civilians in the city were to be evacuated. We got word that the entire city was to be evacuated and that leaving food and water would only encourage people to stay.”

      Tuesday of the next week, Joe went to Mandeville, Louisiana, in a large truck along with some firefighters to pick up fire equipment from across Lake Pontchartrain. While en route, they were listening to WWL radio in New Orleans. WWL is a 50,000 watt clear channel station that broadcasts to a large section of the Gulf Coast. A lady called the station and was very distraught. The last time she had spoken with her father was by cell phone. He was entering the attic of his house during the storm as his house was filling with water. She mentioned an address in eastern New Orleans in Engine 4’s (Joe’s former fire station) territory.

      She pleaded with any police that may be listening to go to the mentioned address to check on her father. She then left her phone number so anyone with information could get in touch with her. Joe recalled, “I immediately called her because I knew that we had a U.S.A.R. team in that area in boats that day. I told her that we’d have it checked out and I’d get back to her.”

      Joe called Captain Richard Smith who was working with them at the Saints' complex and was working with the coordination of those crews. “I asked him to send the U.S.A.R. team in that area to the given address. He called me back in less than an hour. The U.S.A.R. team had found the lady’s father dead in the attic.” Joe remembered feeling his heart sink, as he now had to do something he never thought he would ever have to do. He called her and told her how sorry he was to inform her that her father had been found dead in the attic.

      To his surprise, it was as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. She was very sad but very, very appreciative to know the fate of her father. “I cannot remember being thanked so much for anything in my life. I came to realize the torment of people not knowing the fate of loved ones that were missing. I can only imagine the anguish of the hundreds of people who never found out the fate of missing family members from Katrina.”

      It turned out that the crews in East New Orleans had already set up their own grids and had rescued hundreds of people before the U.S.A.R. arrived. Joe indicated that if it weren’t for the crews at the Bell South Building, the casualties in East New Orleans would have been significant.

      Joe recalled that when he was at the Saints' training facility, the crew was hearing about a lot of fires going on in the city since they had been coordinating with NOFD Headquarters under the leadership of Chief Joey Lampard who was overseeing the firefighter deployments at the training facility. The facility became the main staging area point for the FEMA logistics operations and volunteer firefighters once they began to arrive on the scene.

      Joe remembered he had a concern that about half of the city would be prone to fire. While at Lake Marina Tower, he recalled that there was a yacht club a half a mile from the Tower that was burning after the Hurricane. They were helpless to fight the fire as their truck was sitting in 4 feet of water.

      In the training facility, firefighter support teams were arriving from Chicago and New York. There were concerns, as there was no water pressure for operating hydrants and such. Fires were a problem due to natural gas leaks. Miraculously, with aid from volunteer firefighters, water trucks and helicopter drops, the fires that occurred were addressed.

      It was a week and 2 days before Joe was able to speak with his wife and family. His wife, Shana, and the kids in Tylertown had no idea where Joe was or what was happening with him. The only information they had was from the media, which was reporting on deaths, riots, looting, gangs roaming the streets shooting at rescuers and other catastrophes. It happened that a firefighter from Engine 35, Operator Scott Schmidt, who had come across the train tracks back when Joe’s crew were transferring boats, later ran into Joe’s younger brother who was a Captain in the Baton Rouge Parish Fire Department. Scott communicated to Joe’s brother that he had seen Joe at the tracks and that he was well. Joe’s brother was able to get a message to Shana that Joe was okay. Shana later related that the news was a great relief.

      Many who had family or friends who were involved with the initial rescues suffered weeks of uncertainty as to the status of their loved ones. Meanwhile, the only information was from the news media, which continued to relay the horror of what was happening in the city and the other afflicted areas.

      Joe recalled when he finally got back to his house. The water had risen between the first and second floors of his home. When asked about his thoughts and feelings when he first came back to his home, he said, “When I was feeling sorry for myself, this is the way I processed it: If you ever had a car stolen…let’s say it’s worth $10,000.” “Well you spent 3 to 4 months working for that car…depending on what your salary is; Fire Department…maybe 6 months,” he laughs… “Not quite that long, but….that person stole several months of your life.”

      He continued, “With Katrina, it was like your whole life was wiped out…Everything you had worked for. On top of that, you had another couple of years of your future in rebuilding what had been taken… that’s lost on top of that…it is gone.”

      He said, “My faith and my family are the cornerstones of my being. Why does Jesus tell us that the wise man built his house on the rock? Because there will be storms! I don’t know of a single person in the world that hasn’t been through some type of storm, real or metaphorical. Storms we go through help us to grow closer to God and to develop empathy for others.”

      In further reflection, Joe said, “All of my belongings and my family’s belongings after Katrina fit in a few trash bags… but I had my family. During the time when I couldn’t contact my wife and children after Katrina, I started to think how silly some of the disagreements I had with my wife had been. I gained a perspective from Katrina that I am most thankful. I’ve learned not to take for granted the time that we spend with friends and loved ones. I’ll always treasure the time I spent over the years with Ricky McCurley and all I learned from him.”

      Except for the weeks after Katrina, Ricky never worked overtime at the fire station, which would have meant working 48 hours straight away from his family. When asked why he didn’t work overtime, Ricky replied, “Because some things are more important than money.” He chose to spend time instead with his wife Kyndel and Kai, his 3 year old son. He chose right!”

      Many people had no insurance. Retired and elderly people found their ‘nest eggs’ eradicated. The death rate in New Orleans shot up dramatically after Katrina. Joe felt that many of the deaths could be attributed to the broken hearts of those people who did indeed lose everything.

      As part of the relief efforts, FEMA contracted with Carnival Cruise

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