FEMA red tape frustrates local paramedics

06:59 AM EDT on Thursday, September 8, 2005

Oldham County EMS workers mobilized in three hours, then waited four days to get to Louisiana. One member says if there is any criticism about emergency response, it should be aimed at FEMA.

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Members of Oldham County's EMS are exhausted after days of work in Louisiana.

The Swift Water Rescue Team sent 47 members that ended up working with Kentucky's Air National Guard's 123rd Special Tactics Squadron and Oldham County EMS. By the end of their mission, FEMA was following the three-pronged group because it was working so well.

“There are still people sitting in their homes and you ask them, ‘Do you want to leave?” and they say no,” describes Chris Campbell. “We still want to be out there.”

The team worked with Jefferson County's Swift Water Rescue to evacuate survivors at their makeshift helipad on Interstate 10. They evacuated 100 people an hour.

But the team returned home Wednesday, out of work to do.

“We were pretty aggravated that we had driven and flown this far and not to be able to help as many as we wanted to help,” says paramedic Stuart Crawford.

The EMTs and paramedics say Jefferson County's Swift Water Rescue was the most well organized team in Louisiana and that their training saved lives.

However, the team was not as pleased with FEMA.

The griping at Federal Emergency Management doesn't mean the Oldham County squad didn't get to help people -- they estimate they rescued more than 2,500 people and say they are pleased they had the chance.

But they say FEMA’s red tape kept many trained rescuers from providing help at the most critical time -- immediately after the storm.

"Probably the frustration for us was not being able to do more more quickly and not being able to get the resources we would have liked to have had," said Andy Longstreet.