Published: September 10, 2008 05:17 pm         

Firefighters head for Texas coast

Will assist in hurricane evacuation, rescue

Four Cleburne Fire Department paramedics will soon deploy to south Texas to assist in Hurricane Ike rescue and evacuation efforts, CFD Chief Clint Ishmael said Tuesday.

“I got the call yesterday for paramedics, and we’re able to send four,” Ishmael said. “I should know later today [Tuesday] when they need to leave. They’ll probably be assigned to an ALS, advanced life support unit, to help evacuate medical-needs patients.”

Firefighters Mikel Moore, Robert Willingham, J.J. Lillagore and Corey Bauman will probably be sent to Corpus Christi, Beeville or further down the valley, Ishmael said.

Ishmael said he’s not sure how long the four will be gone adding that the extent of damage and need caused by the hurricane will determine that.

Ike is expected to hit somewhere between Port O’Connor and Brownsville early Saturday and to possibly be a category 3 or 4 hurricane by landfall, Ishmael said.

“They’ll have a better idea by midnight where it should land within 100 miles,” Ishmael said. “But you want to have everything up and ready and evacuate certain groups, like medical-needs patients, beforehand if need be.”

The Texas Intrastate Fire and Mutual Aid System, or TIFMAS, is coordinating the effort, Ishmael said.

The organization works with rescue agencies throughout the state to coordinate resources during large-scale emergencies. The agency works to assist, not take the place of, local agencies and governments in affected areas. TIFMAS will compensate Cleburne, and other participating Texas cities, for their time, Assistant Fire Chief Keith Scarbrough said.

The possibility of Hurricane Ike evacuees coming to Johnson County is, while not impossible, unlikely, Ishmael said. Most will probably go to west Texas with a few coming to the Metroplex, he said.

     

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