In the wake of Hurricane Milton, more than 20 firefighters and command personnel from south suburban fire departments deployed to Florida.
They brought gear in anticipation of a 15-day stay, but after leaving Wednesday returned home Sunday evening, according to Glenwood fire Chief Kevin Welsh.
Personnel from Division 24 of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System were sent as well a firefighters from MABAS Division 27. Welsh is chief of Division 24.
Fire engines Flossmoor, Markham and Thornton were deployed along with an engine from Munster, Indiana, Welsh said.
There were firefighters from those communities as well as Beecher, Crete, Lansing, Sauk Village and South Holland, he said.
Firefighters gathered with vehicles and equipment Wednesday at a truck stop in Peotone and left at 11:20 p.m., Welsh said.
They were to assemble with other fire crews in Ocala, north of the Tampa Bay area, and wait for direction on assignments.
Welsh said Monday the fire crews were back in the south suburbs Sunday night and had never been dispatched to tasks in the field after arriving in Florida.
“They were never really assigned,” Welsh said, and “so many other resources had been deployed” from other areas.
“For us, if anything, it was a good mobilization drill,” Welsh said. “It showed us our strengths and weaknesses.”
Welsh said firefighters had been ready for a possible 15-day stay in Florida.
“We bring our own tent city with us,” he said last week after firefighters left for Florida.
That includes shelters to sleep 15 people as well as rations.
“We go in not knowing if there will be anything” as far as housing for the firefighters, Welsh said.
He said firefighters were prepared for tasks such as clearing debris and searching collapsed buildings.
Compared with working in the south suburbs, Welsh said, firefighters were going into unfamiliar territory.
“It’s foreign, but with all of our training it is easy to adapt to any environment,” he said.
MABAS 24 is the second largest division in the state.
Early Walker, owner of W&W Towing in Markham and senior vice president of Vehicle Management Solutions, said 70 tow trucks are in the Tampa area to assist with relief and recovery efforts.
He said the company previously dispatched 50 trucks after Hurricane Helene, and that another 20 were sent after Milton.
“We are actually looking for more trucks and more drivers,” Walker said Monday. “It’s pretty bad down there.”
Walker said some vehicles being recovered were damaged by water, but mostly it was wind that caused more serious damage, such as vehicles being upended.
Drivers who had been in Florida working in the aftermath of Helene had to seek shelter when Milton swept ashore, Walker said.
“They were helping with one hurricane and ended up experiencing a hurricane themselves,” he said.
Walker said vehicles are being towed to area insurance companies and most are being totaled out. He said demand for more trucks is needed, and that he’s getting inquiries from North Carolina for trucks.
mnolan@southtownstar.com
