Last week, Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwestern Florida and was among the strongest storms to ever strike the United States.
The monstrous storm left an untold amount of death and destruction in its wake.
In the aftermath of Ian, several firefighters with the Wilmington Fire Department (and one from Wrightsville Beach!) made the trip to Cape Coral, Florida to assist residents in rebuilding their communities.
Captains Jason Garay and Rodney Lester, Master Firefighter Eli Venecia, Firefighters Zach Whisenhunt and Timothy Lusk, and Captain Sam Proffitt with Wrightsville Beach, spent several days tarping damaged roofs and cleaning up debris, all in an attempt to help residents get back to some sort of normalcy.
The group has since returned home.
Their selfless work was done in collaboration with the Heart 9/11 organization, which is comprised of first responders who help communities around the country recover from disasters. The organization aided our region in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.
We’re incredibly proud of our firefighters!