Firefighters welcomed home after offering hurricane relief
A joint operation of Orange and Seminole counties’ fire rescue teams arrived back in Orlando after traveling to North Carolina to help first responders there cope with the destruction from Hurricane Florence.
Ambulance Strike Team 501, made up of 12 firefighters, received a warm welcome Thursday from family members and fellow firefighters at Orange County Fire Station 30. They departed Sept. 11, days before the storm made landfall.
“There are a lot of people walking around North Carolina today because Ambulance Strike Team 501 was there,” said Mike Wajda, division chief of operations for Orange County Fire Rescue, during a press conference. “They rescued and provided medical support to several communities that were heavily impacted by the hurricane. They provide fire rescue services for fire departments that were destroyed by the flooding.”
Orange County firefighter Chris Stein received a big hug from his wife and young children upon his return.
It was a welcome comfort after nine days spent assisting North Carolina first responders with several emergencies. Stein proved to be a crucial part of the team, preventing a possible disaster by locating a gas leak and shutting it down.
“I smelled propane while we were evacuating a flooded neighborhood,” he said. “Someone waved us down and told us about a propane tank leaking gas. I waded through the water, located the tank and shut the valve off.”
AST 501 leader David Hollenbach said he was grateful for his team’s awareness — a crucial trait in a disaster-ridden area.
“(Stein) prevented another possible catastrophe,” said Hollenbach, an OCFR Orange County. “Each one of these guys is an aggressive professional and we all volunteered to do a job — to become firefighters. We’re just following in those same footsteps, being firefighters. We go out when people call for help.”
AST 501 assisted in a number