Pittsburgh firefighters volunteering in Western North Carolina with Helene cleanup

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Hurricane Helene caused destruction throughout the southeast. Some of the hardest hit areas that may not have been as prepared for the hit was Western North Carolina. For the last several days, a group of Pittsburgh firefighters have offered help to fellow firefighters to pick up the pieces.

“This community hasn’t dealt with anything like this to be perfectly honest, they don’t have those resources,” said Battalion Chief John Gardell with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire.

For days Gardell and three other Pittsburgh firefighters have been in the thick of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath in Western North Carolina.

“We are living out of a church, a couple mobile units that are connected to a church they’ve provided us to run our operation,” Gardell said.

That operation is through the International Association of Firefighters. This team is helping other IAFF members who have lost everything in their hometowns and are still working to save their own communities.

“The firefighters here in Asheville North Carolina have basically been on duty since the floods occurred to perform rescues and take care of their communities, handle the flooding and number of structure fires from the generators that are working,” Gardell said.

Back at their homes, this Pittsburgh team is cutting up trees and tarping roofs trying to help as best they can.

“As a firefighter for 27 years now it’s just kind of human nature if that makes sense,” Gardell said.

It’s the first responder spirit of helping each person that shines through on these long days.

“I have no doubt that other firefighters if we need them and we have many members ready to respond. I could have 700 Pittsburgh firefighters if we could do that they would be here,” Gardell said.

Gardell told Channel 11 they plan to help as long as they can and will switch out crews on Sunday if needed and send more Pittsburghers south to continue until this community is back on its feet.

If you want to donate to the IAFF disaster relief fund scan the QR code below.