| After entering through the NYPD security check point, getting your daily assignment, getting your tools and supplies ready, and passing by the many National Guard Humvees, you find yourself traveling around what could be mistaken for a war zone. But then you realize you're only an hour and a half from home, in Breezy Point, NY, where Super Storm Sandy struck.
On Sunday, January 6th, members of Venture Crew 62 met bright and early at the South Salem Firehouse, loaded up the car, and headed out to Breezy. When you go to enter the town, and you're stopped by a security check point at the gate, reality hits you. Through Hand 2 Hand Northern Westchester, a Sandy Relief organization based out of Cross River, NY, the Crew was linked up with Habitat for Humanity of Westchester. The Crew met their guide for the day at a local church which was turned into Habitat's local disaster relief satellite office. The Crew got their first assignment and headed off to the Point Breezy Fire Station, the closest firehouse to where the infamous fire of 100 plus homes took place.
The PBFD Fire Chief said parts of their firehouse became submerged in water early on in the storm. This led to the loss of a lot of materials and supplies and then their apparatus became out of service. The Venture Crew worked in a room that had mold growing on the wood paneling and insulation and had to take it down to the studs so the fire department could start to rebuild again. The Chief spoke more about the storm, trying to explain the unimaginable feeling of being at a firehouse so close to such a large fire, and not being able to do much about it. He also mentioned the numerous other calls that night, as well as another large fire that didn't get reported on. As firefighters themselves, the crew members and advisors were taken back. Noticing their current apparatus, the crew members learned that all their apparatus was donated from across the country, since their personal apparatus was lost in the storm. After finishing their talk with the very grateful chief and his members, the Crew left the PBFD with a feeling of accomplishment and pride in helping out their fellow brother firefighters.
Before heading to their second assignment, the Crew was lead through the area of over 100 homes that were burned down. With their heads bowed down in disbelief, the members walked through not being able to imagine what these families have gone through. They noticed the little things, like what survived the inferno such as a rack of CD's that was untouched, in front of a house that was taken down to a charred foundation. They noticed the little bikes that were mangled into balls of rusted metal, the melted vinyl and plastic fences, the kids toys that they knew were just as important to the children that lived there, as the houses were to the families that lived in them. All the while, keeping in mind the big picture; that this area and these families would never be the same. With a new sense of just how fortunate they were to have not lost a thing except maybe a few trees or power for a few days, the Crew headed off to their next assignment.
Down the road was an elderly man's house, that had a foundation caved in and wet sand covering the whole floor of his finished basement. Some parts were two feet deep of sand. Although he had his older sons to help, he needed the extra hands to get the sand out soon so he could start rebuilding his foundation before more damage occurred. The Crew spent the rest of the day there clearing out the sand, the cinderblocks that fell in, and even seashells and other debris brought in by the ocean right outside his front door. By 3:00pm the floor was almost clean, the foundation uncovered, and a fresh start was possible for this man, which he didn't think would come anytime soon.
After a long day of working and lending a hand wherever possible, the Crew packed up and headed back home. As they drove away, and all day while working, there was a definite sense of hope, optimism, and pride for this little community. Outside the PBFD was a sign that read "It's 5 o'clock somewhere…rebuild breezy". A testament to the community's determination that no matter what time of day it is, or what the current state of the area is, there are better times ahead, and Breezy will come back. And after a day of volunteering, the members of Crew 62 felt the same way, and are humbled to have been a miniscule part of that mantra.
Many thanks to Hand 2 Hand Northern Westchester, Habitat for Humanity of Westchester, Crew 62 members Gabe Frolick, Stephen Muoio, Ted Laquidara, Matt Jones, and Advisor John Riina, for making this great experience happen. If you have the opportunity to lend a hand, don't pass up on it. The area is improving, but it will be a long time before it's back together again in full. |
