CHICAGO (AP) -- Nearly 600 firefighters from all over Illinois left for New Orleans Monday to help with emergency operations in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and 500 National Guard troops are preparing to depart for Louisiana on Wednesday.
The firefighters were called to duty Sunday through Illinois' Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, an intergovernmental agency, said Northbrook Fire Chief Jay Reardon, president of the aid system.
They will work in New Orleans for 14 days and spend one day traveling to and one day traveling from the area, he said.
In addition to 592 firefighters, Illinois is sending 38 fire engines, 12 ladder trucks and a number of support vehicles. Early estimates put the cost of the activation at $11.2 million, with the majority of it to be reimbursed, Reardon said.
Reardon said the firefighters know that they will be exposed to some horrific sights of devastation and death, and counseling will be offered to them when they return.
''I think that what they'll see down there will be extraordinary and difficult, but I think all of them will maintain the fortitude to assist people in need down there and to meet the challenge,'' Reardon said.
The firefighters were told to take supplies to ensure they are self-sufficient for at least the first week. They will be paid their normal salary as if they are working in their Illinois firehouse, Reardon said.
The last large activation of the mutual aid system in Illinois was in April 2004, when a tornado in Utica killed eight people, Reardon said.
