Forgive Christian Gaddy if he had to stifle a yawn or two Friday while performing his day job at Southern Restorations.
The young man was out until the wee hours after midnight before heading out after sunrise for a full day of work. No, Gaddy was not attending some post-Dorian party you didn’t hear about.
The Glynn County volunteer firefighter was up till 1 a.m. Friday ensuring that some residents with special medical needs were returned home safely after evacuating earlier this week ahead of Dorian. Gaddis was among a cadre of full-time county firefighters and volunteers who made sure this final detail of local Hurricane Dorian was completed.
“I’m a little groggy, I miss my caffeine,” Gaddy said Friday during his lunch break. “But I like to do volunteer work, I like to help people. I didn’t get back from the last trip till about 1 a.m., but I don’t mind.”
When Glynn County officials called Monday for the mandatory evacuation of residents east of Interstate 95, the county Health Department saw to it that those with needs that could not be met at a regular shelter were adequately served. Getting these folks to the health department on Fourth Street for assignment to an inland shelter was another matter, said Glynn County Fire Department Capt. Neal Mann.
The county school district provided the buses; county firefighters, EMTs and volunteer firefighters assisted with the outreach. The program assisted about 70 people, he said.
These residents’ special needs range from people who require walkers for mobility to those who rely on oxygen machines for breathing, Mann said. This same group of firefighters was responsible for getting these people home once they returned to the health department Thursday after the county gave the all-clear.
This included ensuring that the homes they were returning to were OK, carrying in luggage and making the people were settled in, Mann said.
“These guys and gals are amazing,” Mann said. “They work all day at their regular jobs as far as fighting structure fires and medical calls and other things that occur day to day. Then they have no problem staying up to till 1, 2 or 3 in the morning making sure citizens are well taken care of and get back to their homes safely.”
Gaddis no doubt is looking forward to making up the late night by sleeping in soon. But when folks out there are in need, guys like Gaddis answer the call.
“Some of these people are scared, lonely,” he said. “Even though Dorian didn’t hit here, they’ve been through a lot. You want to be there for them and to help them out. It means a lot.”
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