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job he did during Hurricane Katrina. All families of emergency workers know how difficult it is to separate from their families, especially when a Category 5 hurricane is imminent. Rick had taken an oath, honored that oath, and did the oath proud during the hurricane. Rick was really proud of a documentary he filmed of Hurricane Katrina and the rescues that took place after wards. I learned that the most compelling rescues aren’t on film…because he was assisting the victims.

      In the weeks following, Rick and I discussed Hurricane Katrina and we both saw that there was a bigger picture. It seemed God was showing us cosmic laws of what’s important and what’s not, and what works and what doesn’t. God is important, family is important. “Love your neighbor,” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” “Esteem others higher than yourself.” FEMA doesn’t work on a large scale, but these principles do.

      I’ve heard it said that there’s liberty in doing what the creator designed you to do, just as there’s liberty in playing a piano correctly. Just banging on the keys isn’t liberty. When you learn the keys and play them in the correct fashion, you make music. Likewise, ‘We are His workmanship created for good works in Christ.’ Metaphorically speaking, Ricky didn’t just play piano; he was a symphony. And I can see him in the heavenly symphony playing electric guitar with his fireman’s baseball cap on backwards, singing a new song. And Rick’s way in the back because he’d want someone else to get the credit. That was Ricky.

      Capt. Joe Fincher

       New Orleans Fire Department

      Capt. Richard M. McCurley was stationed at Engine 4 in East New Orleans.

      Engine 4 was one of the busiest stations in the city. Richard (or as he preferred to be called, Ricky) was considered a star of the department. He’d been with the New Orleans Fire Department for 12 years when Katrina hit. As part of Engine 4, at the time of Katrina, Firefighter McCurley’s unit and other units from District 4 including Engine 4, Engine 36, Squirt 4, Ladder 13, Car 504 and several EMS units were stationed at the Bell South Building; one of the city’s ‘locations of last resort’ as defined by their Hurricane Plan.

      The ‘locations of last resort’ were pre-determined locations considered to be on high ground and presumed to be sufficiently resilient during a storm to provide a safe haven for the firefighters and their equipment. There were 18 such locations across the city.

      Ricky, a life-long resident of New Orleans and graduate of Benjamin Franklin High School, was highly regarded amongst his fellow firefighters. He was much respected as an intelligent, charming, humorous, and good-hearted man. Ricky had a way about him that made the people he was with feel good.

      At the time of Katrina, Ricky had a wife Kyndel, and a son Richard (Kai) who was 3 years old. His fellow firefighters commented on how important Ricky’s family was to him. Ricky would routinely refuse to work overtime because to him family was more important. He was also an accomplished guitarist and loved to play music.

      He had a reputation for always wearing his NOFD baseball cap backwards…that was Ricky.

      Ricky, while stationed at Bell South Tower, brought his video camera and recorded the onslaught of Katrina. He chronicled the event by focusing the camera on his wristwatch at the beginning of every new scene. He captured the visage of Katrina from the predawn hours of August 29^th, 2005, through the rage of the storm, through the sky clearing after, through the boats and rescues that went on for 5 days. Ricky caught it all. Much of Ricky’s video is included on the DVD companion to this book.

      As the waters began to rise, it became painfully apparent to the men in the Bell South Building that they wouldn't be going home at the end of their shift. Operator Alan Boisdore had come to work Sunday and happened to have his jet ski on a trailer still attached to his truck. Amongst the rest of the crew were additional jet skis and a flat bed boat that the firefighters happened to bring with them upon deployment to the Bell South Building. Alan said of the boats, “We had intended to go home after the storm. We were lucky we brought them because the storm passed through, the water came up, and the water stayed up…and that’s when everything broke loose.”

      Because of the high number of residents in East New Orleans, the firefighters of the Bell South Station stayed out longer than any other unit. As long as there were people who needed rescuing, they weren’t going to shut down. Using boats, jet skis and a comprehensive grid system of the many neighborhoods, they had New Orleans East covered. And they went to it!

      Alan indicated, “It didn’t take long to find more boats. New Orleans is by the water and many people liked to fish and had boats in their driveways prior to the storm.” By the end of the week, the firefighters of Bell South had about 10 boats in which they were able to conduct rescues.

      Friday was the first time Alan saw other rescuers in the area, including federal employees and firefighters from other Fire Departments. They fended for themselves, commandeered gas, food, medical supplies and many other necessities. They worked tirelessly pulling people off roofs or out second floor windows from dawn to dusk…bringing their fellow citizens out.

      These firefighters had no communications with their families; in fact, many didn’t even know where their families were. Many lived in the neighborhoods in which they were rescuing, boating past their own destroyed homes. They had each other, and they had their mission…and they got down to work.

      During those 5 days literally thousands of people were brought to dry safety. At one point, Headquarters decided to shut down the operation, but the firefighters at Bell South refused, as there was still work to be done. They were firefighters and their work was not yet complete. Their rescue operations were finally shut down Saturday, the sixth day after Katrina. At this time, the federal presence was large and growing. Many of the men were experiencing skin rashes and lesions from constant exposure to the contaminated waters that occupied the city.

      Operator Alan Boisdore indicated that when they left Bell South on Saturday, September 4^th, they boated out towards Chef Mentaur Highway where there was dry land. In fact, the highway had become a common area for bringing victims to dry land. They dropped their boats off at the fateful intersection of Chef Mentaur Highway and Read Blvd. Present were rescue personnel from FEMA and the military and local police. People at the intersection provided Ricky and his crew a flat bed truck. They had heard through sporadic radio that a base camp had been set up across the river at Woodland. Alan recalled seeing all the destruction on that ride out. The truck maneuvered around debris that littered the highway. The firefighters on board held on for their dear lives as the truck proceeded.

      On the Interstate, there were broken down vehicles and debris scattered all over. People were milling about; some screaming, some crying and yelling at the firefighters as they proceeded through. Many of these people had been rescued or through their own resources found dry refuge on the Interstate. Buses had started to arrive to evacuate these people, but at the time the men were driving through on the flatbed truck, chaos was still the order of the day up on the Interstate. By Saturday, there was significant traffic congestion as rescuers, FEMA people and evacuation vehicles were coming into the city. When the flatbed got to the toll booth, the traffic was extremely congested.

      Chief Parent happened to be at the toll building when he saw the crew of Engine 4 coming from the river. He motioned for the flatbed to pull over. On the Crescent City Connection, next to the toll station and in front of the men, he called Ricky over, asked him to raise his right hand and swore him in as a Captain in the New Orleans Fire Department.

      Ricky, dressed in a dirty shirt, his NOFD baseball cap on backwards and lesions on his back from the foul water, swore his oath and accepted his new role. With a great deal of pride, Ricky and his men proceeded on their way. The men were put on a bus and driven to a church in Baton Rouge to recuperate. Ricky had heard that his wife Kyndel and Kai were staying at the Hilton in Hammond, Louisiana. Kyndel’s father, Ray Peacock had reserved a lot of space at the hotel as a refuge for family and friends. Ricky jumped off the bus to find his way to the hotel.

      Outside of the hotel, Ray Peacock happened to be out in the front area of Hotel lawn…he said he looked up and this dark tanned bald guy was running towards him shouting, “Mr.

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