Captain Jim Fox, an EMT with Phoenixville Fire Department’s West End ambulance, and Lt. Brian Zimmerman, a paramedic, arrived in Louisiana with EMT Rich Ressel and Paramedic Keith Ledger on Saturday evening.
With little time to rest, Fox and Zimmerman were sent to southern Louisiana to help evacuate critical care patients from hospital near Metairie. Working with the National Guard from Texas and Massachusetts, and military personnel from Maguire Air Force Base in New Jersey as well as members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Phoenixville EMS providers prepared and loaded patients into military planes for transport to safe zones outside the area projected to be hit by Hurricane Gustav.
“We’ve never had to work with the military before,” Fox said. “This was definitely a learning experience.”
Aircraft to transport those critically ill patients landed at Lakefront Airport.
From the National Defence and Canadian Forces:
The Government of Canada, in response to a request from the United States Government, deployed a CC-177 Globemaster transport aircraft to Louisiana today to assist with the evacuation of people from areas under threat by Hurricane Gustav.
Designated Operation UNIFY, a CC-177 Globemaster, deployed under the provisions of the Civil Assistance Plan from CFB Trenton, Ont, to Lakefront, Louisiana to assist with American evacuation efforts. CF aeromedical personnel were also onboard the aircraft to assist with any medical issues.
“The Canadian Forces have a wide variety of equipment, vehicles, and expertise that can be used to offer assistance to those in need,” said Chief of the Defence Staff General Walt Natynczyk. “Whether it’s helping Canadians here at home, our neighbours to the south, or people in distress across the globe, the Canadian Forces stand ready to support the Government of Canada's efforts in promoting safety and security.”
The crew started work at 10:30 p.m. Saturday. At 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Fox and Zimmerman were finally on their way back to Tent City, their base camp located at the Louisiana State University’s Agricultural Center.
The weather was sticky and humid. The streets of New Orleans, which are normally teeming with life, were empty.
“Today it was a ghost town,” Fox said. “You see a couple of people here and there, but otherwise it’s deserted. They did a good job with the evacuations, but I’m sure people are hiding out in their homes.”
As Fox and Zimmerman evacuated their patients, Ressel and Ledger worked alongside other members of the Pennsylvania Strike Team to tear down Tent City and move everything indoors in preparation for Gustav’s onslaught.
“Once the hurricane hits, we will be on lock down,” said Fox. “No one is leaving the building until it passes.”
With enough equipment and food to last them 72 hours, the crew is well prepared to deal with the storm, but tomorrow brings the surprise factor.
“Obviously we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Fox said. “All we know at this point is that the projected path of the storm shows it’s going to be right over top of us.


Into the Eye of the Storm (9/1/08)
Gustav made landfall today as a Category 2 hurricane. Despite the downgrade, the storm brought torrential rainfalls and winds that gusted up to ** mph.
The crew was on lock down, unable to leave the building until the worst of the storm had passed. Their temporary headquarters, a new hurricane-proof building on the LSU campus, is located about 185 miles from where Gustav made landfall and housed about 500 EMS providers from Pennsylvania.
In an adjacent building, more than 1,000 evacuees rode out the hurricane.
Late tonight, Gustav had been downgraded again, this time to tropical storm status. Still the heavy rain and high winds wreaked havoc. The crew listened from inside the building as winds howled and rain pounded, but they are thankful; it was nowhere near as bad as expected. Though the worst is over, bad weather persists.
There is no air conditioning, and the temperatures inside the building have soared.
“We’re in a room with 500 people on cots,” Fox said. “It’s hot and muggy, but we’re making do.”
Tomorrow at 7 a.m., the crew will meet with FEMA representatives, and at 9 a.m., they will meet with the whole Pennsylvania Strike Team. After that, they will be deployed to work in a moveable military hospital to provide medical care to the evacuees.