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DISASTER RESPONSE people were left injured or ill. The $38 billion in damage the state suffered as a direct result of the storm includes 300,000 homes damaged or destroyed. "Once the storm hit, we were faced with the expected obstacles, such as flooded vehicles and facilities, power outages and downed trees, poles and debris hindering our ability to get to calls for assistance," Caruso adds."Unlike normal road closures based on construction, downed trees, etc., in this case we were not notified by local police and did not find out about inaccessible roads until our units attempted to pass. Some of the lower-lying coastal areas were subjected to voluntary and mandatory evacuation and some of the neighborhoods had received door-to-door notification, while other residents were notified by radio announcements, television and radio news, social media, etc. Many residents did not leave, either by choice, or because they were not fully informed as to the danger. Ultimately, some of these people were in need of rescue." Michael Bascom, EMS coordinator for Monmouth County and one of the New Jersey EMS Task Force leaders, talks candidly about those rescues. Just a few blocks from his own home, which was severely damaged, another house exploded during the storm due to a natural gas leak. Two victims were rescued and they were only recently released from a burn center. "We also had several water rescues, with trees coming down on top of boats," says Bascom. "I had to make the call that rescues were to cease, and you know the heart and brain of most people in our business. They don't want to stop until they have to stop, and 'have to stop' is when trees are falling on your rescue boats and it's becoming far too dangerous to continue opera- tions. Making that call, where no further rescues are going to be permitted, and then fielding the calls at the EOC from people who failed to heed the orders to evacuate and at the height of the storm are begging for someone to come save them, claiming heart attacks, structure fires—virtually everything—in the hopes that we'll come through the storm to rescue them. That's an interesting perspective that many people probably didn't experience in the storm if you were boots on the ground. If there's a lesson to be learned for the public, it's to heed that evacuation order, without question." But Bascom also notes a rescue he was directly involved in, after he'd already given the order to suspend rescue operations. "The police chief and I responded on a possible drowning call. It was just as things were getting really, really bad. Sustained winds over 45 mph. Flood EMS1303 For More Information Circle 32 on Reader Service Card 36 MARCH 2013 | EMSWORLD.com