FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 2, 2005

CONTACT: Jane Schultz, (202) 824-1587 (Office), (703) 244-9584 (cell)                  

Rescuing the Rescuers: Helping Those Sacrificing to Save Lives And Restore Order in Ravaged Gulf Region

Katrina’s First Responders to Receive IAFF Reinforcements to Help Care For Families, Find Loved Ones, Assess Personal Losses

Media Note: Interviews Available with IAFF President Harold Schaitberger, First Responders

Baton Rouge, LA – To free first responders to continue their grueling work in the rescue and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Katrina, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) officials are mounting their own rescue mission for members sacrificing to help others. Many have not been able to track down their own families, assess damage to their homes, and are going days on end without food, water, and sleep as they search for and bring relief to others.

“The men and women of the fire service along the Gulf Coast have truly put themselves on the frontline to protect their communities by working endless shifts, throughout the day and night, before, during -- and now after -- this horrendous storm,” says Harold Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters. “The IAFF is on the ground to ensure that our members are not forgotten as they face their own losses, yet work tirelessly rescuing those stranded by the storm and helping their communities through this terrible tragedy.”

The IAFF has established a hurricane command response headquarters at the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America’s building in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to assist fire fighters and their families in the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Fire fighters throughout the region are leading search and rescue operations and recovery and relief efforts while they try to care for their own families, find missing loved ones and assess damage to their homes and property. IAFF 14th District Vice President Danny Todd and a team of IAFF representatives have been onsite assessing the needs of IAFF members and their families and helping them locate family members and provide direct relief where needed.

“Our members are rising to the occasion and putting in an incredible effort rescuing storm victims in the Gulf Coast right now,” says Todd, who represents fire fighters in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. “In some cases, we have fire fighters living on the roof of their firehouse and who are out of touch with their families and in need of food and water. Still, our fire fighters are showing Katrina that they won’t be deterred from getting the job done.”

The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in Washington, DC, represents more than 270,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics who protect 80 percent of the nation’s population. More information is available at www.iaff.org .

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