Thursday April 10^th

On our first work day, we split into two crews and went to two separate homes of New Orleans firefighters.  From the outside, both homes look intact.  However, these houses suffered terrible flood damage and the interiors needed to be gutted to the frames.  This is true for tens of thousands of homes in New Orleans. 

The first group of four hung new doors and did some reframing.  The second group of eleven hung drywall on the entire first floor. 

The extent of the devastation is amazing.  Mile after mile of damaged and destroyed homes and businesses.  The vast majority of the damage is from flooding following the levee failures.  However, we’ve also seen severe wind damage.  Additionally, we’ve seen several fire damaged buildings where the flooding had prevented effective firefighting efforts.  The pictures and video seen are inadequate to convey the extent of the destruction. 

The two NOFD firefighters whose homes we worked on were tremendously appreciative.  They and their families have lived away from their homes for over 2 ½ years.  Our work will contribute to getting them back in their homes soon.