Heroes of New Orleans' Recovery
Citizens and Volunteers are Raising the Bar for City Government
A lack of government funds and attention force volunteers to take the lead in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Local fire fighters personally rebuild their stations.
Two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina left a massive footprint on the city of New Orleans, some aspects of life in the "Big Easy" still nurse old scars. Amid a plethora of volunteers and activist groups, the local government does little more than release official statements to comfort the faint cries of many issues still left unsettled.
Social issues tormenting the recovery process are blanketed with unsung heroes, civil servants and private citizens working amongst government inadequacies in order to keep the status quo.
While media outlets do sometimes offer a forum for advocates of the homeless, explore the citywide mental health crisis, and provide an occasional platform for police and fire officials to vent, many of these everyday citizens are left in despair.
The media scratches the surface, only teasing the general public with a glimpse of these problems, and rarely making enough waves to generate a real solution.
As the dust settled on the men and women who made real sacrifices during the catastrophe in 2005, those dedicated to civil service were left to give more, to volunteer for another tour of selflessness.
The New Orleans Fire Department is full of these humble disaster veterans. After the storm dissipated, facilities stood in ruins. Flooded fire stations, broken equipment, and a severe lack of personnel left these men and women dedicated to civil service with an almost impossible job description. Even now, the words of encouragement from city officials border on disrespect.
New Orleans Fire Chief Gordon Cagnolatti estimated that about 80 percent of the houses around the city were destroyed by the storm's effects. "They weren't all totaled," said Cagnolatti optimistically, sitting in the chief's quarters at the 3rd District headquarters.
One company worked fire watch from a Federal Emergency Management trailer in front of their gutted out firehouse in the city's lakefront neighborhood for two whole years. Waiting patiently in what one platoon in the third district jokingly nicknamed "FEMA mansions," for the local government to refurbish their destroyed houses, many took matters into their own hands.
Underneath a blue tarp roof in the truck bay of Engine 18, Captain Paul Hellmers detailed plans for the construction work done on the nearly 70 year old house.
"We even put up this new tarp when the old one wore out," said Hellmers of the work the fireman are doing themselves.
With the help of some neighborhood activists, particularly a nearby bank and bar, the small house that once held one truck and three firemen pooled donations from various sources to pay for materials and some contracting costs.
"Each house is basically on its own, but we are getting a lot of help from many different sources," said Hellmers.
One major contributor to the cause was the Leary foundation, set up after Katrina by Dennis Leary, the comedian and actor who saw success portraying the life of a stressed, over -worked firefighter in a network television series. Once these funds are allocated, they are dispersed to the respective houses, which are prioritized on a list by the amount of water each one took in.
"They haven't gotten much help from the city yet, so the ones [firefighters] that are able, are doing it themselves," said Chief Cagnolatti in an interview last year.
While volunteers from all over the country make weekly rotations in and out of the city to donate money, time, and labor are much appreciated, only so much can be accomplished without the active support of city government.
