New Sharon Fire Headed Back To Help Others In Need
New Sharon Fire Captain Steve Gerard is seen here helping to clear debris from a home in Port St. Joe, Florida this week. (photo by Nancy Boney)
New Sharon, Iowa – The New Sharon Fire Department sent another team off this past week to help others in need.
The team is headed to Port Saint Joe, Florida, which is a community east of Mexico, Florida, to assist with cleanup and recovery efforts after Hurricane Michael devastated the region.
The New Sharon Fire Captain, and recovery team organizer, along with 3 other volunteers loaded their gear on Thursday afternoon, and plan to return home on November 10th or 11th.
This is the second extended trip for the group this year, having just returned from North Carolina after assisting there in cleanup efforts after Hurricane Florence.
Gerard said that within days of returning to Iowa, discussions between the Biloxi Fire Department and New Sharon Fire began about the latest hurricane, now named Michael.
The group of volunteers never leave home until they know there is a need. The devastation was so extensive it made communication with those living in the impacted areas more difficult.
A member of the Biloxi Fire Department crew took a trip to the devastation, and found a community of people in need, and sent that information back to the group.
“We’ve touched base with a fire station down there just this afternoon to confirm everything,” said Gerard. There, the volunteers from the group which includes members of Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi Fire, and New Sharon Fire will have a place to sleep, cook, and get a shower.
At about this time last year, the team had arrived home from assisting in Rockport, Texas. This year, the team had assisted homeowners in Des Moines twice when floods occurred there. They also helped in Pella, Iowa and Marshalltown, Iowa after tornado’s impacted those communities.
Including those with the trips to North Carolina and now Florida, it has been a hectic year for the volunteers.
If you would like to donate, the group has set up a GoFundMe account. Click HERE to visit.
