New Orleans Firefighters Come To Help NYC Firefighters Who Helped Them After Katrina
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - One good turn deserves another. Firefighters helping firefighters. That's the story here.
WCBS 880's Sean Adams: They've Come To New York To Lend Muscle And Moral Support
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New Orleans firefighters have come to the rescue after superstorm Sandy.
This morning, roughly one dozen started swinging hammers and sawing wood in the Rockaways, whatever needs to be done to help members of the FDNY rebuild their own homes damaged by the storm.
New York City firefighter John Henderson, of Engine 72 in the Bronx, helped out in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
"The best part of it was the appreciation of those guys for when we showed up. That and being able to help them and the damage done to their homes was the most satisfying part for me," Henderson told WCBS 880 reporter Sean Adams.
Now those southern firefighters are returning the favor, on their own time.
"I lost my house completely. I had nine feet of water during Katrina. To have these guys come down there and give us a helping hand. What more than for me to come up here and to help them out in any kind of way," said New Orleans Fire Department Captain Billy Shanks.
Roughly three dozen will rotate in while others work their shifts back home.
"There's a Captain David Hick down there and he started to rally up the troops down there and say 'Remember seven years ago when those guys came down here. I'm looking to go. Who's with me?'" Henderson said. "It kind of went viral and just took off from there."
"The fire department is a true brotherhood throughout the world. I went down to Katrina on the first one. I felt I had to do something," said Doug Caferone of FDNY Ladder 143.
He helped rebuild after Katrina. Little did he know then that, one day, his friends in New Orleans would return the favor.
Southwest Airlines is even covering the flights.
More than just helping hands, these New Orleans firefighters can lend an ear for they know the pain firsthand.
