PORT ANGELES — A group of five firefighters from the Port Angeles Fire Department will board a plane Saturday bound for Haiti, where they will spend 10 days rendering aid.
Dan McKeen, Port Angeles fire chief, said, “With any effort such as this, there is a worry about the unknown, but I’m really proud to have a department that is willing to sacrifice personally, both with their time and financially, to assist others during this very difficult time.”
The team consists of John Hall, firefighter and paramedic; Capt. James Mason, Lt. Kevin Denton; firefighter and paramedic Mark Karjalainen; and Bryant Kroh, firefighter and emergency medical technician.
They have been preparing for the trip since last weekend — just days after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti on Jan. 12, which, along with aftershocks, left an estimated 200,000 people dead and 2 million homeless — but the idea to assist in such a disaster has been brewing for awhile, Hall said.
He even established a Web site a year ago should there be a need for it: www.mercworks.us.
“We had talked around the breakfast table about what to do if something like this happened,” he said.
The Web site contains information about the trip, and a link for donations.
Hall said if group members can get an Internet connection in Haiti, they will post updates about their trip on the Web site.
Chief McKeen noted that a group of Port Angeles firefighters went to New Orleans to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and Hall wanted to go then, but couldn’t.
“John was a driving force behind that effort, but he didn’t have enough seniority, so he wasn’t chosen,” McKeen said.
Hall has worked for the department since 1998.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Port Angeles firefighters were the only contingent from the North Olympic Peninsula known to be heading to Haiti in an official capacity.
‘Gods hands and feet’
The opportunity to assist in Haiti came when Capt. Mason had contact through his church with the non-governmental organization called Mission Aviation Fellowship, which coordinates Christian missions around the world.
“For me, like everyone else, I saw the suffering. I just ache for those people,” he said.
“At church we learned about God’s justice, and about being God’s hands and feet in the world.”
Mason and the others were given a rare chance to turn their empathy into action, while most of the world can only watch the dire situation unfold from afar.
Many others in Port Angeles have rallied to support the trip.
The firefighters have received donations of medical supplies from Jim’s Pharmacy, Captain T’s Shirt shop is providing screen-printed uniform shirts and Walmart has donated $150 in food.
Joe Kammack, owner of Jim’s Pharmacy, said the store has a history of helping the community, and this is an extension of that effort.
“It seemed like the right thing to do, to help local guys who are helping out others,” Kammack said.
The bulk of the funding is coming out of the firefighters’ own pockets and from individual donations. Hall estimated the trip may cost upward of $6,000.
Independent Bible Church of Port Angeles donated enough air miles to buy four round trip tickets to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From there, the firefighters will board a donated private aircraft for the hop to Haiti.
Mission Aviation Fellowship members will greet the firefighters when they land, then decide where they are most needed.
They will land at an airport 25 miles outside of Port-au-Prince, where access to the U.S. military-controlled main airport is nearly impossible, Hall said.
Aid as needed
From the rural airport, they will be able to assist Haitians who are outside the main disaster zone, although they may be needed in the city as well.
The team expects to assist plenty of Haitians with injuries sustained in the quake and aftershocks, but they are also willing to do whatever is needed, from digging ditches to prying bodies out of the rubble.
“We all have tremendous skill sets beyond firefighting,” Hall said.
In addition to aid supplies, the group is prepared to bring all the personal supplies they will need for the 10-day trip, including food, shelter and water.
They will each carry five gallons of fresh water, which they will ration.
None of the funding for the trip will come from the fire department budget, as other firefighters in the department have volunteered to cover their shifts.
The Haiti aid team will not receive department pay during the trip.
“Everybody in the department participated in some way in this effort,” McKeen said.
They estimate total hours on duty in Haiti will total 800.
While donations will help to offset their costs, Kroh said the community can donate something else as well.
“Prayer support would be huge.”
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Features Editor Marcie Miller can be reached at 360-417-3550 or marcie.miller@peninsuladailynews.com.
The Peninsula Daily News will publicize additional Haitian relief efforts on the North Olympic Peninsula both in print and online. Contact Miller at the above phone number or e-mail address, or by fax to Miller’s attention at 360-417-3521.
