Connecticut fire responders aid in Hurricane Helene relief in North Carolina

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A group of fire responders from Connecticut converged in the Southeast to help those devastated by Hurricane Helene. Helene washed away homes, destroyed roads, and left millions without electricity and cell phone service. Deputy Chief Matthew Cohen, with the Westport Fire Department, has been in Hickory, North Carolina aiding in hurricane relief. "This is the main staging area for all the FEMA and deployable resources," said Deputy Chief Cohen. He's among the group of Fairfield County first responders who left on Friday and arrived down south 15 hours later around midnight. Cohen says their main job is improving communication. "Communities have been cut off from communication with family and the ability to access internet and things like that," said Cohen. Hurricane Helene battered North Carolina's mountains, those affected areas are only accessible by helicopter. "On Saturday, we deployed to Little Switzerland, a small town up in the mountains, we did a food and water drop with the National Guard. We brought satellite communications," said Cohen. They have also gone to do drop offs to a field hospital and communities in Broad River, NC. "We also brought a portable cell tower that we had to fit on a helicopter and put it on a mountain and set it up on the side of a mountain," said Cohen. Cohen's team will be doing communication assessments to determine public safety radio coverage, internet and cellular service. This is an 11-day deployment, however, they will have the option to extend their stay contingent factors like the trajectory of Hurricane Milton and its potential devastating impact in Florida. "