The damage done by Hurricane Helene was devastating. After the storm blew through, volunteers from all over the country stepped in to help. One of those who traveled to South Carolina was Lebanon Firefighter Jason Adams. Recently, Jason shared his experiences and what led him to step up to lend support.
How and when were you called to action to help with the hurricane?
“I was contacted while at home about a week after the team was initially deployed to see if I would be available to deploy with a supplemental HEPP (Hazmat Equipment Push Package) team. After contacting my administration to confirm availability, I was notified that the team was officially activated approximately 30 minutes later. Within around an hour and a half, I had gathered all of my equipment and made it down to our warehouse where we received our initial assignment to the Asheville, NC area.”
What was your top priority while you were down there?
“The main Indiana Task Force 1 team (INTF1) was assigned to multiple areas throughout the three-week deployment, primarily throughout Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. Their assignments were mostly related to search and rescue/recovery efforts. As a part of the HEPP package, we responded with extra equipment to resupply all the deployed teams as they burned through their caches, such as Tyvek suits and specialized decontamination solutions among many other things. We took requests for this equipment from teams throughout the region and worked through the logistics of getting equipment distributed as needed over a large geographic area.”
Did anyone else from LFD or other fire departments in Indiana go with you?
“I am currently the first and only member of LFD on Indiana Task Force 1. The team consists of several hundred members from departments all over the state of Indiana. The response system is comprised of 28 federal teams across the nation, 26 of which were deployed in different capacities to Hurricanes Helene and Milton from as far as Washington and California.”
How long were you down there to help?
“The HEPP team was deployed for 14 days, with the main INTF1 team out for a record 3 weeks.”
Do you think this trip down to help has impacted your career? (Negative, positive, no change)
“Being a member of INTF1 over the last 4 years has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. It’s always surreal to respond to areas effected by natural disasters on a large scale such as this and difficult to see what the people affected are going through. Going into these communities to assist in their responses to disasters while they are at their most vulnerable, it’s always amazing how gracious the local individuals are and how time and time again they all step up to help one another. There are a lot of positive experiences and learning moments to take from these deployments that I bring back and make me better as a firefighter with LFD. The unique experience working with public safety personnel from across the state is a great opportunity to network and portray a positive image of Lebanon Fire Department throughout the region.”
Did you get to do anything other than help with the hurricane relief?
“We didn’t have opportunity to do much outside of our assignments, but several sites hosting our personnel were amazing and had setup their facilities to accommodate our personnel after crews were out working 12-14 hour days searching. Coming back in to a hot meal, hot shower, and being able to relax and watch a football game for a few hours before another long day out is a big morale boost after a week of physical work.”
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