The Associated Press
NEW YORK — New York City ambulance companies are sending trucks and crews down to the Gulf Coast as the region prepares for a possible hurricane three years after Katrina.
Citywide Mobile Response Corp. spokesman Isaac Newman says his company dispatched five ambulances along with 15 crew members early Friday from its headquarters on Stillwell Avenue in the Bronx.
They left about 6 a.m. and are expected to reach the Gulf Coast in about 30 hours.
Newman says his crew members stocked up on batteries, helmets, socks and underwear. He says that they were called to deploy at 10 p.m. Thursday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tropical Storm Gustav has been strengthening into a hurricane and threatens to slam the coastline in the next few days.