WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Unprecedented devastation as two hurricanes have ripped their way through the same areas back-to-back. Relief efforts have been bolstered by fire departments across the country, including Kansas.
Kansas Task Force 1 arrived home from playing their part in Hurricane Helene’s aid. The crew included firefighters from Wichita, Olathe, Junction City, Manhattan, and others. They spent two weeks working long hours in the devastated areas.
Firefighters with Sedgwick County Fire District 1, Captain Luke Wiebe and Lieutenant Tyler Brenneman, spent one week in Florida and one week in North Carolina. They compared what they saw in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene to working on the response to the Andover tornado two years ago—this time, on a much larger scale.
“[I] wasn’t sure what to expect when we got there,” Wiebe said.
They arrived just before the hurricane made landfall. They braced for the storm and then immediately deployed. Their days consisted of surveying the damage and performing search-and-rescue by going door-to-door.
“Tree limbs down everywhere, water in multiple houses. Almost every house we went in had, you know, feet of water inside it,” Wiebe said.
“Houses completely swept away or just completely dismantled,” Lieutenant Brenneman added.
Bridges and roads were completely washed away; direct routes and supply lines were severed. The isolation left some Helene survivors without seeing another human face in over a week.
“Several of them were brought to tears. It was just amazing to know that, from Kansas here in the Midwest, we could actually help these people in what we think is a small way. It meant the world to them,” Brenneman said.
Among the intense loss, Task Force 1 firefighters describe a scene of optimism among survivors.
“[They were] still very optimistic that they would rebuild and they’ll be back to normal someday. Just didn’t know when normal was going to be,” Brenneman said.
As they start to settle back into the normalcy of their regular shifts, he compares their time in Florida and North Carolina to another day on the job.
“It just felt like another day. We went and did our mission. We did it well. We accomplished what we went there to do,” he said.
Kansas Task Force 2 is expected to arrive back in Kansas this Wednesday.
For those who are interested in helping hurricane victims, KSN’s parent company, Nexstar, has partnered with the American Red Cross to collect donations.
