'Ready to go': PCB, Panama City first responders sent to help Hurricane Debby victims

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Local first responders were sent to help an at-risk community in the wake of Hurricane Debby .

At about noon on Wednesday, crews with Panama City Fire Department, Panama City Beach Fire Rescue and South Walton Fire District were dispatched from Bay County to go to Lafayette County. They will help oversee fire rescue services as the area works to recover from the Category 1 storm.

According to Chief David Collier of PCFD, responders are expected to return on Friday, but their deployment might get extended over the weekend.

"After Hurricane Michael (in 2018), we received an outpouring of support from outside agencies all over the state," Collier said. "We've been extremely proud and excited to return that favor to our surrounding counties and agencies that are in their time of need.

"Going through Hurricane Michael gave us a lot of experience on how to deal with disasters, and we have nothing better than the best personnel who are trained and ready to go to provide that support when called upon."

He, along with Chief Ray Morgan of PCBFR, noted that each department sent one fire apparatus and four people. Both sent two firefighters, one engineer and one station captain. SWFD also sent a command officer to accompany local crews.

Local impacts: Hurricane Debby lowers Bay County wave heights, giving a mistaken impression of calm surf

Hurricane Debby made landfall at about 7 a.m. on Monday near the Big Bend area, causing power outages and flooding throughout affected communities.

"This is a small community, kind of rural and they don't have a whole lot of fire protection," Morgan said of Lafayette County. "The reason we got mobilized was to go into this community and protect it. ... It's really important for us to be there for that community in their time of need."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: 'Ready to go': PCB, Panama City first responders sent to help Hurricane Debby victims