Killeen firefighters return from assisting in hurricane relief efforts on east coast

KILLEEN, Texas (Oct. 16, 2024) - The seven Killeen firefighters who assisted in Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton relief efforts in North Carolina and Florida have returned from their first deployment outside of the state of Texas.

Killeen Fire Battalion Chief Phillip Bannister, Fire Rescue Officer Joshua Menix, Fire Rescue Officer Mark DiGiAcomo, Captain Marvin Taylor and Captain Mark Whiteley spoke about their experience and took questions from media Wednesday.

"We're tired, but we're in good spirits and now just getting our lives back into a routine," Menix said.

Bannister first deployed to Florida for Hurricane Helene, then was reassigned to North Carolina to deliver aid, assess damage and perform in search efforts. He was deployed for 21 days and the rest of team had a 14 day deployment to Florida. The team assisted as water rescue technicians with Texas A&M Task Force 1 (TX-TF1).

The team deployed at the request of the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Killeen Fire Chief Jim Kubinski confirmed the teams worked 12-18 hours daily while on assignment, and he was confident in their abilities.

"These men and women are very highly trained, so I know the level of preparation and awareness that they're going into this with, is even a higher level of training than average," Kubinski said.

The firefighters said they went door-to-door to check on residents, saw flooded homes, residents with no access to food and water, impassable roadways and worked to get supplies to those in need. They said also had to be cognizant of the unstable grounds, which weren't used to getting that many inches of rain dropped on them in such a short period of time.

The team said the residents in the communities they assisted were thankful and expressed sincere gratitude. Emergency responders are trained to focus on the mission and condition their emotions, but the compassion is still present.

"The biggest part is being away from your own family," Menix said. "When you're going up to a house that has kids the same age as yours, or grandparents the same age as yours and they're in the worst time of their life, you have to put that aside and do what you're trained to do, but at the same time, you're always going to have that in the back of your head- this could be my family."

There was a chaplain who was available during this deployment, and there are also peer and longer-term emotional support systems in place for those who deployed.

Hurricane Helene is now the deadliest mainland hurricane since Katrina in 2005, and there are nearly 100 people still missing in North Carolina. There are still millions without power in Florida from Hurricane Milton.

Citizens are encouraged to find reputable ways to assist through programs like the American Red Cross.

The Killeen Fire department experienced 27 deployments in the fiscal year 2024. They said they're happy to answer the call when needed, and know others would do the same for Killeen. For more information on the Killeen Fire department, visit www.KilleenTexas.gov/Fire.

Press conference:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SeFw9kLYsg