July 03--Five New Bern firefighters are spending the Fourth of July with Hurricane Arthur -- wherever he may be.
The men, members of the state's Task Force 10 emergency responders, left New Bern at 7:15 a.m. Thursday to join up with another nine firefighters with the Greenville Fire Department. From there, the 14-member team traveled to Plymouth on the western end of Albemarle Sound.
The area was chosen, according to Commander Jim McConnell, who heads up New Bern's team, because it is safely out of range of the worst effects of the expected storm, but also within 90-minute drive to the Outer Banks, where the unit would most likely be deployed.
"The idea," he said, "is to put yourself somewhere out of the path but [be] accessible to wherever the problem comes," McConnell said.
The team will remain a minimum of 24 hours and up to 72 hours, depending on the impacts from the storm.
Task Force 10 is a state-sponsored, specially trained and certified team of New Bern and Greenville firefighters covering 10 counties in Eastern North Carolina. Under the heading of USAR (Urban Search and Rescue), it is a two-pronged approach to responding to disasters.
The five men who left for Plymouth are specifically certified in swift water rescue. This particularly involves the rescue of people who might be trapped in homes because of flooding, or in cars that have been stranded or isolated by swift-running water as a result of flooding. A total of 10 local firefighters are certified for this group.
The other team involves searching collapsed structures for survivors.
"If there is a major hurricane or tornado where houses are wiped out, we'd start from one area and do a grid search of the residential area to make sure all the civilians are out," McConnell said.
New Bern Fire Chief Bobby Aster noted that the teams go to a number of training sessions each year in various locations in the state. He added that, whenever the team is deployed, the state covers all costs. "New Bern taxes do not pay for this," he said.
When asked how the men feel about giving up their Fourth of July, McConnell said, "It's just the nature of the beast. ... We can't just pick and choose when we want to go places. ... It's what we do when we sign up to become part of the team, to become a firefighter."
Aster said the statewide task forces were put together after 9/11. When asked how New Bern got involved, he smiled and said, "Because we're good. I'm proud of these guys. I'm proud of every one of them."
Contact Bill Hand at 252-635-5677.
Copyright 2014 - Sun Journal, New Bern, N.C.
