Firefighter, reservist in high demand during hurricane
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --
Airman 1st Class Joel Fernandez, with the 714th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, was on standby at his firehouse in Haledon, N.J., anticipating calls in response to damages stemming from Hurricane Sandy.
It did not take long for the civilian firefighter to be in the fray of what he describes as the busiest week ever.
"We had a lot of power outages, basement and car fires, trees down, building collapses and people trapped in their homes with gas lines open," the five-year veteran fireman said.
The workload for the Haledon fire department increased he said from the normal three-to-four emergency calls per night to more than 20. The workload was so heavy that he did not go home for a week.
"We all slept at the firehouse throughout the week," Fernandez said.
Staying close at hand proved best as Fernandez said his company was excellent in responding to the needs of his community.
"We were there when the seconds counted," he said. "In one call, a house was about to collapse, and we were able to get there in time and get everyone out."
At week's end, the workload in his area began to settle down. He swapped his firefighter uniform for his Airman uniform, and reported to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., to perform his Reserve drill.
"I feel this is a big thing that happened, and we are all trying to come together and help each other out to recover from Sandy."
It did not take long for the civilian firefighter to be in the fray of what he describes as the busiest week ever.
"We had a lot of power outages, basement and car fires, trees down, building collapses and people trapped in their homes with gas lines open," the five-year veteran fireman said.
The workload for the Haledon fire department increased he said from the normal three-to-four emergency calls per night to more than 20. The workload was so heavy that he did not go home for a week.
"We all slept at the firehouse throughout the week," Fernandez said.
Staying close at hand proved best as Fernandez said his company was excellent in responding to the needs of his community.
"We were there when the seconds counted," he said. "In one call, a house was about to collapse, and we were able to get there in time and get everyone out."
At week's end, the workload in his area began to settle down. He swapped his firefighter uniform for his Airman uniform, and reported to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., to perform his Reserve drill.
"I feel this is a big thing that happened, and we are all trying to come together and help each other out to recover from Sandy."
