Hurricanes

Rescue crews stream into North Carolina

Emergency workers from 16 states, and 900 cots for them to sleep on in Garner.

Posted Updated

By
Travis Fain
, WRAL statehouse reporter
GARNER, N.C. — Rescue workers from across the country converged Thursday at an old Kmart in Garner.

A California crew drove 51 hours straight, sleeping in shifts, to be here. The building air conditioning doesn't work, so cool air gets pumped in the front doors through massive tubes connected to a mobile unit.

The men and women about to float small boats through flooded North Carolina neighborhoods were getting ready, staging in Garner and at other points around the state for a potentially massive operation.

Crews from 16 states had arrived by late Thursday morning. A spokesman for the operation said they've set up more than 900 cots in the former Kmart for crews to rest when they're not busy.

"You know what, we're in this career to help people out," Sacramento Fire Department Capt. Dave Lauchner said as his crew worked on a boat motor nearby. "This is a good opportunity for us to come and help out. Always wanted to come over to this neck of the woods and check it out anyway."

Lauchner's crew drove two days, towing jon boats and inflatables behind them. He said this is his fourth deployment on hurricane duty in eight years. His team is called California Task Force 7. It was in Houston for Harvey and New Orleans for Katrina.

"My wife's used to it. My kids are used to it," Lauchner said. "I miss them, they miss me, but they know we're over here for the better good."

Inside the old Kmart, a swift-water rescue team from Marysville, Ohio, sat on cots, studying maps, thinking about topography and doing some last-minute training.

Florida rescue worker Chad Williams checks his phone while waiting to be deployed for Hurricane Florence.

They posted up near the air conditioning tubes. Before those arrived Wednesday evening, the temperature in the cavernous old store was not pleasant. But you'll hear no complaints from Marysville Fire Chief Jay Riley.

"The hospitality, the people from North Carolina, is unbelievable," Riley said. "We've never been welcomed like we've been here."

In the calm before the storm Thursday, spirits were high. This, rescuers said, is what they live for.

"We get laughed at when we leave," Lauchner said. "But you know what? We love it. The drive's rough, but we love it."

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