Pittsburgh-area first responders, non-profit send aide for Hurricane Helene

PITTSBURGH — Several local first responders are heading to Florida and other areas hit hardest by Hurricane Helene.

Brother’s Brother Foundation in the North Side is getting ready to send truckloads of safety equipment, water and hygiene kits down south to help with hurricane relief.

Channel 11 spoke with a woman who’s from Wexford and lives in the Tampa area. She lost power last night and said the storm was scary.

“It was kind of scary to be honest. I’ve been down here for about two years, and this is the scariest one I’ve seen, said Elise Sullivan.

Elise Sullivan lives in St. Pete Beach, which was impacted by Helene.

“There is a lot of damage, a lot of flooding around the city. I’m in St. Pete and the streets are flooded, wires on the ground. I had people texting me about driving anywhere is sketchy and dangerous right now,” said Sullivan.

Channel 11 learned Murrysville Medic One sent three crews to Florida so did Fayette and Rostraver EMS.

The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane last night in Perry, Florida. Now its path of destruction is impacting Georgia and the Carolinas.

The spokesperson for First Energy said they have several line workers and mechanics heading to Atlanta to help restore power to hundreds of thousands of people.

However, crews ran into bad weather and are delayed getting to Georgia.

“They are already running into very windy bad weather in southern West Virginia so they are going to stop in Charlotte and then they will have a three hour drive to get down to the Atlanta area tomorrow morning,” said Todd Meyers, the First Energy spokesperson.

Brother’s Brother Foundation is on standby. They have been in contact with partners in Tallahassee and Tampa Bay to provide assistance.

“We’re ready and waiting. It is just kind of a waiting game to see when it hits, if it hits, how big of damage it causes. But right now, it is a waiting game,” said Tanner Rowe with BBF.

Ten American Red Cross volunteers from the Greater Pittsburgh region have deployed to Florida to help as well.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2024 Cox Media Group