By Dan Nowak
The Hour, Norwalk, Conn.
HICKORY, N.C. — After Hurricane Helene caused devastation in the southern states, the Fairfield County Hazmat Communication Team, without hesitation, responded.
The team set up its operation in Hickory, N.C., working for two weeks to help restore communications systems and distributing much-needed supplies to the community.
“We weren’t sure what to expect when we first got there,” Westport Deputy Chief Matthew Cohen said. “Safety and helping distribute medical supplies and food was part of what we did in North Carolina . But our primary role was to provide communication and data restoration support as part of a regional emergency response initiative.”
The Fairfield County Hazmat Communication Team included personnel from Fairfield County Regional Dispatch, Westport, Wilton, Norwalk and Stratford.
“When we arrived, there was no cell phone service, radio or Internet capability,” Cohen said. “Our focus was to help restore communication on many levels. It was important to us to give people — survivors — phone service capability to let friends and family know they were okay. Their 911 service was also down, and we needed to get that working again.”
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The team was deployed to an area destroyed by the hurricane with Field-Comm 1, a mobile command unit. The Field-Comm 1 vehicle is equipped with cutting-edge communications and coordination technology, including satellite communication, radio interoperability and internet access.
“The Field-Comm 1 vehicle allowed us to operate independently and maintain communication links between local responders, state agencies and federal resources,” Cohen said.
In addition to Cohen, other Westport first responders included Michael Durette and Patrick Dailey, both firefighters, and police officer Greg Gunter. Stratford Assistant Fire Chief Michael Camperlengo, Wilton Police /Fire Deptartment Dispatcher Ashley Momplaisir and Norwalk Firefighter Peter Chila were also among the Fairfield County Hazmat Communication Team.
Other community members from Connecticut have traveled to North Carolina to assist hurricane victims. For example, nine members of Norwalk’s House of Prophecies and Prayer journeyed to Ashville, N.C. to bring a van filled with supplies, including water, juice and snacks. Many of volunteers were from North Carolina and have relatives living there, the church said.
Hurricane Helene made landfall Sept. 26 in Florida as a Category 4 and created a 500-mile path of destruction with catastrophic flooding, damaging winds and power outages that also impacted Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
In North Carolina, most of the devastation in the mountainous western region of the state.
On Oct. 23, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration announced there is a record $53 billion in damages and recovery needs due to the hurricane.
The storm and its aftermath caused 1,400 landslides and damaged over 160 water and sewer systems and more than 6,000 miles of roads. Damages also include more than 1,000 bridges and culverts and an estimated 126,000 homes.
There are 98 verified storm-related fatalities in North Carolina as of Oct. 25 with the number expected to be updated daily, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Bringing normalcy to damaged communities
During one operation, the Fairfield County Hazmat Communication team worked to restore communications in the mountainous area of Broad River, N.C. The team adapted a mobile cell site and the Norwalk Fire Department’s utility terrain vehicle to fit on a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter. After unloading, the equipment was hauled up the side of a mountain so they could deliver food and vital medical supplies to the local government. The team went on to reestablish cell coverage and provided satellite phones to community officials.
“Roads were impassable, so we needed the Army helicopter to get to where we needed to go, to airlift supplies and equipment,” Cohen said. “Thanks to this operation, we delivered food, water and essential supplies to communities that have been cut off.”
Cohen said the goal was to try and get some sort of normalcy back for North Carolina residents.
“The tough part is the power is still down and it could be four months before power and utilities are restored,” Cohen said. “It was amazing to see all the other out-of-state relief effort groups here helping out. There was a group from Virginia but there were other groups from as far away as Alaska and California.
The Fairfield County team arrived on Oct. 4 , and returned to Connecticut over two weeks later on Saturday, Oct. 19.
“When we first got there the state was overwhelmed with local first responders and agencies stretched beyond the limit to keep up with the relief effort,” Cohen said. “But by the time we came back home last Saturday, with the out-of-state relief help helping the past two weeks, local state agencies and responders are now able to handle the relief effort on their own.”
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