Louisianians are headed out to Florida ahead of Milton, the state's second major hurricane in the past two weeks.The Baton Rouge Fire Department is part of a coalition of public safety and rescue crews from around the state that mobilize when hurricanes hit. Altogether, the group has 52 public safety members in Tallahassee, prepared to get to work when the storm hits. The team was just in the Carolinas, helping out with victims of Hurricane Helene. It's the quickest turnaround in disaster help the team has faced."Our team had come home Thursday night and was back on the road Monday morning. This is the shortest one we've had, but it shows the commitment of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and the fire service, and the Fire Marshal's Office," Baton Rouge Fire Chief Michael Kimble said.BRFD sent firefighters skilled in boating, clearing debris and repairing structural damage.WBRZ also spoke to DEMCO, a power company based in Greenwell Springs. They sent crews out to restore powerlines in the Carolinas after Helene hit. DEMCO says they're prepared to help with Milton power outages if they are called upon."What we'll do is our statewide organization will stay in contact with the statewide organization in Florida. And they'll assess the need from the Florida perspective, then they'll reach out to us and say where the most dire needs are," DEMCO communications director David Latona said.In the town of Zachary, trucks and trailers are set up to take in drop-off donations for those affected by Helene."We're trying to help the people that have lost their homes in the flood during a hurricane," donor Blake Smith said.The trucks will head out Oct. 14 to deliver the supplies and then start collecting again"Now we got another 18-wheeler coming in. They'll park it right here and we'll start loading it up and we'll make decisions after we get back and see what happens in Florida if we need to go down there and help them out down that way," Zachary Mayor David McDavid said.Permalink| Comments