Reported by: Deb Silverman
Photographed by: 9News
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Area paramedics who just returned from helping hurricane victims in the South say they see more serious damage here upon their return.
They were not prepared for the damage to come this far north.
They were busy helping people in Louisiana when they knew they were also needed here at home.
"That really took a toll on the personnel said," Miami Township Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Mack.
Ten emergency workers from Joint Emergency Medical Service in Warren County, as well as the Miami Township and Loveland-Symmes fire departments, drove their ambulances 16-hours south to be ready to assist for Hurricane Ike.
The team was stationed in Baton Rouge and then moved to Alexandria, Louisiana – the areas that became saturated with people who were evacuating to avoid Hurricane Ike.
Their job was assist the local paramedics.
While firefighters here at home responded to calls for trees on roads, trees on houses and trees on fire – the men in Louisiana were dealing with different problems.
"It seemed that most of our calls were trauma calls," said Lieutenant John Frye, of the Loveland-Symmes fire department, "because of such an overpopulation in such a quick time that, we had quite a few shootings."
The Loveland-Symmes and Miami Township fire chiefs say more than 120 emergency calls came to each of their departments Sunday because of the storm.
They say they usually get about five calls a day. With some people in Louisiana, they had to call others in to help.
"To those who think we shouldn't have sent our folks away and kept them here to take care of the home front – at some point of time in the future – we may need that same service," said Chief Jim Whitworth.
The fire chief's say the state of Ohio is very careful about how many emergency workers are sent out of state. They watch the number of people and where they are from in case of our own crisis.
