Hurricane Relief – Washington County Ambulance Crew Deployed To Florida

By Alex Haglund

While many people head north and west to avoid the wrath of Hurricane Irma, two of Washington County’s public servants are doing the opposite.

Late on the night of Saturday, September 9, Washington County Ambulance Department Paramedics Kevin Woolever and Jessika King departed for Florida, along with other paramedics from Litton Ambulance Service in Mt. Vernon.

Ambulance Department Administrator John Felchlia said that Washington County, as well as Litton, have a contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to be deployed in times and places of emergencies or natural disasters.

The Illinois paramedics arrived in Tallahassee, Fla., on Sunday afternoon, and were staging at Florida A&M, along with about 300 other ambulances and crews, ready to be dispatched to where ever they are needed.

On Monday evening, Felchlia stated that the crews had been sent to Orlando. Felchlia said that he would be posting further updates to the Washington County Ambulance Facebook page as he received more information.

The paramedics will be deployed no more than two weeks. If they are there that long, Felchlia said that another Washington County crew will head south in order to relieve them.