Orlando firefighters busy with relief efforts
Some Orlando Fire Department firefighters got about 5 hours of sleep Monday morning — several hours in a row more than usual.
When Hurricane Irma’s winds strengthened to more than 50 mph about 10 p.m. Sunday night, the department stopped responding to calls — and it left the firefighters with time to rest and prepare for the mess they’d face in the storm’s aftermath Monday.
Irma was demanding of the firefighters’ energy and time. Higher-than-average call volumes coupled with significant damage and roadblocks made for a challenging mix, but brotherhood kept their spirits high as they responded to countless calls Monday morning.
At 5 a.m., alarms blared to rouse firefighters from their beds. They were sent to call after call that had been on hold since operations were shut down the night before. Medical calls, reports of downed power lines and gas leaks kept firefighters at Station 1 busy through most of the morning.
On the way to several early calls, firefighters had to clear debris out of the roads and maneuver around flooded streets. Broken glass on the pavement glittered in the moonlight about 13 stories below where a window busted out from an apartment in the Solaire at the Plaza high rise at 155 S. Court Ave.
Back at the station, three firefighters pitched in to serve the crew a breakfast of sausage, grits and vegetables. The Temptations’ “My Girl” played in the kitchen as they worked — the opening lyric, “I’ve got sunshine ... on a cloudy day,” set the mood of the morning.
With their bellies full, the men set off for another batch of calls. Responding to a report of an alarm at the Kinneret Apartments retirement home, firefighters learned the elevator had shut down. Firefighter Daniel Wade pitched in with an unusual job — walking the chihuahua of a resident who couldn’t make it downstairs to take it outside. Zoe the dog’s owner Scheryl Porter thanked him for taking the time to complete a task not listed in his job description.
Later, in a moment of peace amid multiple callouts, firefighters took a moment to remember what day it was — Sept. 11, 2017.
“Hey guys, I know we’ve got a lot of devastation out there, but take a moment to think about what day it is and what time it is,” a firefighter said over the station intercom at 8:46 a.m. — the time the first plane hit the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.
Crews saw extensive damage from the hurricane throughout the day. About noon, firefighters responded to a home in the 200 block of Hyer Avenue. A towering oak tree fell onto the roof, crushing it in. The house — which had a placard saying it was built in 1925 — slanted slightly under the weight of the tree.
“That could have killed someone,” said Lt. Louis Capps. No one was injured. Still, after surveying the damage around downtown Orlando, several, including Lt. Brian Hiler and firefighter Anthony Williams, said Irma seemed to hit Orlando worse than last year’s Hurricane Matthew, but not as bad as Hurricane Charley in 2004.
“Charley was worse,” Williams said. “There was a lot more damage.”
Williams was among several firefighters from the shift that started work as Hurricane Irma approached Central Florida on Sunday who got to go home about noon Monday to check on their families. Williams said one of the hardest parts of the hurricane efforts was leaving his wife alone during the damaging winds and rain as he worked to help others.
“It’s tough to be here and have her at home,” Williams said.