Illinois firefighters head toward Florida to help with Hurricane Milton relief

O’FALLON, Ill. – Firefighters in Illinois got the call around noon on Wednesday, and a few hours later they were packed up, ready to head down to Florida and help out as Hurricane Milton makes landfall.

“In a matter of a few hours, the request went out for engines and in short order we had 15 ready to go and 60 firefighters,” O’Fallon Fire Chief Brad White told FOX 2.

60 firefighters from Monroe and St. Clair Counties, along with engines and gear, will be in the Tampa area for fifteen days responding to local emergency calls.

“This just highlights the guys that are in the service now are stepping up and they are going to go wherever that call is made,” White explained.

At about 7:30 p.m., a mix of full-time and volunteer firefighters from Fairmont City, Freeburg, Highland, Smithton, and O’Fallon set out from the O’Fallon Fire Department.

White is not going on this trip, but he is all too familiar with volunteering during hurricane relief efforts, as he worked Hurricane Ida three years ago in Louisiana.

“Going all the way back to Katrina,” Smith said. “We’ve always stepped up from the state of Illinois to help out folks in need.”

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