Baton Rouge area - emergency response

Hurricane Katrina rescue
In the first few hours after Hurricane Katrina, ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery Assistant Fire Chief received a call from the Louisiana State Police to help rescue stranded New Orleans residents. Shortly, a crew of 11 ExxonMobil Emergency Local Interfunctional Response Team (ELIRT) and Emergency Medical Team (EMT) members left for New Orleans, taking two skiffs and two pontoon barges.

The rescuers began to find trapped victims on rooftops and in attics by listening to calls for help in the darkness and by following Coast Guard helicopter spotlights as they hovered over houses.

Team members say they all experienced overwhelming gratitude from the people they rescued. From being grasped in hugs that went on for minutes to sharing tears of relief with victims, the team says the effort was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a difference.

Their personal stories illustrate the dramatic rescues they executed.

“We heard someone calling for help and saw a man's head peering out of a rooftop. We chopped a hole in the roof to get the man and his wife out of the attic where they were trapped. I'm a trained responder and, until then, was professionally focused on the job at hand. But when the wife got out and began to cry and hug me in relief, I became emotional,” said Dickie Hamilton, a member of ExxonMobil Emergency Response Organization.