By Sara Wagner
WANE
NEW HAVEN, Ind. — This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The storm devastated the Gulf Coast, killing nearly 2,000 people and destroying a quarter of a million homes.
As the water receded, volunteers came pouring into New Orleans and some of that support came from right here in the region. After the storm, FEMA asked for help from ambulance services around the country. When the call came, local paramedic and Director of EMS Services for New Haven-Adams Township EMS Ned Gatchell answered willingly and said he’d do it again in a heartbeat.
“I don’t think of it any different than the job I’m doing today. I don’t think of it as history. It’s just part of the job we did and I’d go do it again if need be because it was important work and I trained a lot for that kind of disaster management, so I would be glad to go again and lend my services if they were needed,” Gatchell said.
Read full story: New Haven paramedic reflects on Katrina experience