KILLEEN, Texas — Seven Killeen firefighters have returned home from aiding in hurricane relief efforts in North Carolina and Florida, according to the City.
Killeen Fire Battalion Chief Phillip Bannister, Fire Rescue Officer Joshua Menix, Fire Rescue Officer Mark DiGiAcomo, Captain Marvin Taylor and Captain Mark Whiteley held a press conference on Oct. 16 to discuss their first deployment outside of the state of Texas.
“We’re tired, but we’re in good spirits and now just getting our lives back into a routine,” Menix said.
The City of Killeen said Bannister first deployed to Florida to assist after Hurricane Helene, but was later reassigned to North Carolina to deliver aid, assess damage and perform in search efforts.
Bannister was deployed for 21 days, the City said, with the rest of the team serving a 14-day deployment to Florida, assisting with water rescues with Texas A&M Task Force 1.
The team reportedly deployed at the request of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Killeen Fire Chief Jim Kubinski confirmed the teams worked 12-18 hours daily while on assignment.
“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 they also had to be aware of the unstable grounds, which weren’t used to getting that much rain in such a short period of time.
The team said the residents in the communities they assisted were thankful and expressed sincere gratitude, said the City.
“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 the deployment, and there are also peer and longer-term emotional support systems in place for those who deployed, the City said.
The full press conference with the firefighters can be found at this link.
More from 6 News: