Firefighters Volunteer Time in Haiti For Humanitarian Mission

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The 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti caused a humanitarian crisis on a massive scale.  Many first responders from the United States traveled to Haiti to render assistance, both through FEMA and non-profit organizations.  One such organization was Firefighters for Christ, which sent a team of fourteen firefighters, both active and retired, to give humanitarian aid to those who had survived the earthquake but lost all that they had.

Brian Price, a Fire Captain with the Fresno Fire Department, took ten days off from his job as a career firefighter and volunteered his time to travel to Haiti as part of the Firefighters for Christ's mission.  Some of the firefighters worked in clinics, while others like Brian, did logistical work, assessing the needs of the earthquake survivors and insuring that food, water, and supplies were directed to the people and places that needed it.

Price explains his work in Haiti, saying, "The unique thing about firefighters is they are trained to do, they can do, just about anything.  They have US&R training, medical training, search and rescue, and also just connecting people, connecting the dots.  There was so much need that needed to be verified, and what we were doing was we were going out, meeting people, seeing the need they had and then taking that need and giving it back to the UN, to the World Food organization, saying, 'Hey these are the needs, this is what we need to get this need met. Can you help us?', and then really trying to connect folks in that way."

Captain Price and his fellow firefighters obtained food and water for approximately 6,000 people in the towns of Leogane, Delmas and Carrefour.

Although he witnessed much death and destruction, sleeping 100 yards away from a destroyed school where bodies were still buried in the rubble, that was not what struck Brian Price the most.  He says, "We didn't go to witness the dead.  We went to witness to those that were living, and so the folks that were living had a bigger impact on me personally than those that had passed away."

To learn more about Firefighters For Christ and their humanitarian work, visit www.firefightersforchrist.org.

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Author:William Leatherman - FDNNTV.com