Redmond firefighters return from helping with hurricane aftermath

REDMOND, Wash. — Four Redmond firefighters are home after helping communities in North Carolina and Florida in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Helene made landfall in Florida on the evening of Sept. 26 as a Category 4 with winds reaching 140 miles per hour. Milton plowed ashore about a week and a half later, as a Category 3 storm on Oct. 9.

While on deployment, Battalion Chief Caleb Freeman, Fire Marshall Rich Gieseke, Driver and Engineer Coy Morris, and Firefighter-Paramedic Matt Nelson served as safety officers, logistics specialists, rescue specialists, and medical specialists.

“This was the widest-spread devastation I have seen from any deployment, including wildfires and other hurricanes,” said Freeman in a news release. “However, despite the destruction and years of rebuilding facing them, I am continually amazed at the resilience of people. The power to come together and support one another is astonishing.”

The federal response to these storms was the third largest mobilization of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) search and rescue resources, behind the responses to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The National Response Framework that FEMA operates for disaster response relies heavily on local rescue resources from agencies like Redmond Fire that are from outside the affected area.

For the first half of the deployment, Freeman and one other safety officer were responsible for the safety of responders in all of North Carolina and Tennessee. During this time, they oversaw 22 task forces and thousands of people. According to a news release, he worked to prevent an outbreak of norovirus, investigated injury accidents involving task force personnel, coordinated with the regional power company to measure power restoration progress, and drove several hundred miles each day.

“The City of Redmond deeply appreciates its first responders, the work they do to keep our community safe, and how they represent Redmond on the regional and national stage,” the release from the city said.

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