A group of Largo firefighters joins several other bay area crews to help those in southern counties after diverting area residents from Charley's path.
By THERESA BLACKWELL
Published August 17, 2004
They got the call at 1 p.m. Friday to stop evacuating Largo residents and return to the station.
But Largo Fire Rescue Lt./paramedic Ken Mantay knew from experience with hurricanes Andrew and Hugo that the day was not over for his crews. He advised them to rest up while they could, eat and drink plenty of water.
Soon, they would get the call to help counties south of Pinellas recover from Hurricane Charley.
"There's a kind of mentality here in Florida that we take care of each other," Mantay said, "just like a family takes care of its brothers and sisters."
Pinellas County did rush to the aid of counties struck hard by the hurricane:
Five county fire engines and pumpers were the first to reach Hardee County. Officers from Pinellas fire departments were sent to set up commands in there. Ambulances, patient transport vehicles, an animal surgical van, utility trucks and generators were also sent to hard-hit counties like Hardee, Charlotte, Polk and Orange.
A radio tower and communication system for emergency operations went to Charlotte County.
Pinellas County sheriff's deputies and officials went to Charlotte County to help, survey the damage and learn a few lessons.
The Pinellas health department sent a team to Polk County and utility workers to Orange County.
Another five rescue vehicles and advanced life-support vehicles went to Charlotte County on Monday.
Dwaine Booth, county assistant director of EMS and fire administration, said Clearwater and Seminole fire rescues sent an ambulance and a rescue vehicle with staffers. Other fire departments stood ready and may yet be called in to help.
The first Pinellas fire department crews to respond left for Hardee County at midnight Friday. Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Largo and St. Petersburg fire rescues sent fire engines and crews to help with search and rescue. Treasure Island Fire Department sent a pumper with a crew from Treasure Island and other nearby fire departments.
Palm Harbor Fire Rescue Division Chief Craig Maciuba was in charge of the 18 firefighters from Pinellas County.
"We went there as a response crew that could get there quickly to assist them," he said.
On Saturday, news of the local firefighters filtered back to Pinellas.
"They are searching damaged mobile homes predominantly," said Palm Harbor Fire Rescue District Chief Tom Fritz. He said doing without a crew here did not affect operations because others were called to work locally on overtime.
"Where they are, it was totally devastated," Palm Harbor Fire Chief Jim Angle said. "But they haven't found any injuries."
The report from Tarpon Springs was similar.
"They are just trying to help out, do what they can," said Capt. Scott Young of Tarpon Springs Fire Rescue. "The damage is extensive: huge power poles snapped off. They were pretty amazed, but they didn't report any injuries yet."
On Monday, Mantay said firefighters had to move power lines and trees off the roads before finally reaching Wauchula in Hardee County.
"It was like walking into something from a movie set," Mantay said, "a movie like Twister."
In a parking lot, Hardee County officials were studying a map by flashlight. When they saw the Pinellas crews, they were really happy, Mantay said. They told the Pinellas firefighters that one of their stations had been destroyed and two others were badly damaged, but they had started searching for survivors right after the storm went through.
Mantay's group started in the northwest part of town, an area of older homes and some mobile homes. They made their way through the streets with chain saws and knocked on the door of every damaged home. They asked if anyone was injured, whether they had food and water, and marked the house as visited with paint.
Trees had fallen on homes and cars, cutting one car into two pieces.
They evacuated an elderly woman who needed oxygen, but other injuries were minor, mostly scratches.
The crew later helped in a few other areas and then headed to the south end of the county, to an area where many orange grove workers lived.
"We found them all huddled around a convenience store, a brick building, the only one left standing after the hurricane," he said.
The firefighters cut paths through the debris so the residents could see whether they had anything left to salvage. A huge power pole had been snapped in half there, one that an electrical worker told Mantay was rated for 200 mph winds.
In Ona, the crew found a lumber yard that looked like a game of pickup sticks, a flattened warehouse and a damaged convenience store. They helped the owners of the convenience store get things cleared away so they could get in the store. Then they headed back to Wauchula for a fuel stop.
When they got back about 4 or 5 p.m., Mantay saw a welcome sight: fire rescue units from Jacksonville and Gainesville had arrived, along with the National Guard. The exhausted Pinellas firefighters could go home.
"The cavalry is here," is the way he described the feeling later. "We helped till the big guys could show up."
