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Emergency personnel throughout Washington County have headed to Louisiana to provide assistance to those in need after Hurricane Ida made land fall on Sunday.

Bartlesville EMS Administrator Dan Dalton said they are a subcontractor from American Medical Response (AMR) who has a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) contract, so they are supplementing the contract to provide paramedic life support ambulances. He said two units consisting of four members of their crew left at 9:00 a.m. on Monday.

Dalton said Bartlesville EMS and its staff takes pride in helping those in need.  He said they had no problem getting people to volunteer to help with Hurricane Ida relief for an unknown stint. The four members of Bartlesville EMS that headed to Louisiana could be there for a week, if not longer.

The crew could remain in Louisiana longer if AMR and FEMA are in need of them.

Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana 16 years after Hurricane Katrina rocked the State. Then, Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,800 people and caused an estimated $100 billion worth of damage.

Bartlesville EMS assisted with Hurricane Katrina all those years ago. Dalton said they are always happy to help out. He said they hope they would receive the same assistance in Bartlesville if disaster were to strike.

Washington County Emergency Management (WCEM) has also sent a four-member team to Louisiana.

We will hear more from WCEM Director Kary Cox and company at a later time.