As the Sunshine State braced for impact Thursday, the Bay State was lending a helping hand as dozens of volunteers headed south to assist with whatever Hurricane Helene has in store.
More than 40 members of Massachusetts Task Force Once packed up and traveled to the Gulf Coast to support the area as it braced for nearly 20-foot storm surge.
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“There’s not a lot of storms on record of this size that have hit this area," Charlie Lubowicki, of Mass. Task Force One, said.
Members of the search and rescue team out of Beverly planned to stage in Florida and North Carolina.
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"It's going to have a greater impact inland than we usually see hurricanes do and that is why there's a lot of preparations for response for flooding in the areas of Georgia, the Carolinas, and then Tennessee, as well," Lubowicki said.
About a dozen volunteers from the Red Cross of Massachusetts were also heading into the storm, joining nearly 300 Red Cross volunteers from across the country going to Florida as businesses boarded up and evacuations continued in anticipation of the storm.
"It's a pretty large operation so there's going to be responses in Georgia, in Florida and then we have more people gearing up to go down there as well," one Red Cross volunteer said as she packed her bags. "This storm is bigger than any one Red Cross so we send in people from all over the country to be able to help with large scale shelters, feeding operations."
Other first responders from New England were also planning to assist states forecasted to be impacted by Hurricane Helene. Among them is the Manchester Fire Department, which deployed a swift water/flood rescue team, vehicles and equipment to North Carolina. They may be involved in search and rescue operations, animal rescues, medical care and other tasks.
“The Manchester Fire Department has always supported our neighbors on a state, regional and national level in times of crisis. We proudly support them in the expected life-saving efforts before us now," Fire Chief Ryan Cashin said in a statement. "We are appreciative of those who stepped up within our ranks in the deployment itself, as well as the support from the City of Manchester and the families of those deployed. This is one hundred percent a team effort of which we are proud to be a part.”
“I am deeply proud of the professionalism and exceptionalism of the Manchester Fire Department. Their commitment to serving our community and assisting others in their time of need is nothing short of heroic," Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais added. "The City of Manchester stands behind them as they deploy to aid in the response effort to Hurricane Helene. We are blessed to be in the position to help.”
