“After the great hurricane of 1900 hit Texas, it was only through the ingenuity, dedication, hard work and generosity of both its citizens and businesses that the beautiful City of Galveston was rebuilt.  So too will New Orleanians be responsible for bringing back our City to be the proud community it was prior to this set back.  This organization is at the forefront of the kind of leadership that is needed to show our residents and the world that we as both private citizens and good corporate citizens are reinvesting in our infrastructure.  The New Orleans Fire Department wishes to recognize the hard work of the Bring Lakeview Back Committee and thank those who contribute to the restoration of these two engine houses.  We hope that this will only be the beginning of restoring all of our fire stations so we can continue to provide the highest level of life safety to the citizens of New Orleans.  With the leadership of these kinds of neighborhood organizations, New Orleans will once again be the crown jewel of America's greatest cities."

District Chief Tim McConnell
New Orleans Fire Department
 

“Throughout the punishing winds and rain, the massive flooding and the fires burning throughout it all, the men and women of the fire service in New Orleans, surrounding parishes, and throughout the gulf states stayed for the fight. The phones remained down. There was no water pressure. Their trucks couldn’t get through flooded streets. Violence and looting made their jobs even more difficult.

Tired, worn out and worried, they remained on the job, rescuing the ones they could and responding to hazards they hadn’t imagined.

More than 70 percent of City of New Orleans firefighters lost their homes, according to Fire Superintendent Charles Parent. Their families are somewhere else, among the hundreds of thousands of evacuees. From preliminary figures provided by the Louisiana State Emergency Operations Center, nearly 3,000 firefighters, fire officers (both career and volunteer) and their families have been affected by the tragedy in the New Orleans area. Five parishes and 47 fire departments were hit hard.

The unflinching resourcefulness and dedication of firefighters and fire officers are among the encouraging aspects of this unprecedented disaster.
Since Katrina hit and Lake Pontchartrain flooded New Orleans, the New Orleans Fire Department has responded to more major fires than in the last 10 years combined.”
 

Chief Bill Killen
President, International Association of Fire Chiefs