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O'Fallon-based emergency service helps with rescues in Texas

Air Evac Lifeteam — based out of O’Fallon, Missouri — has sent 14 helicopters and their command center is acting as a second set of eyes for pilots making rescues.

People across the country, including here in the bi-state, are heading south to help those impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

There are still thousands in Texas awaiting rescue, including those at local hospitals. Air Evac Lifeteam — based out of O’Fallon, Missouri — has sent 14 helicopters from six different states to help with disaster response.

"Every aircraft has a nurse, pilot and a medic,” said Joe Grygiel, senior director for base operation at Air Evac Lifeteam. “We've got a maintenance support team down there on the ground we have an aviation support team on the ground we have a operations support team on the ground.

At their command center in O’Fallon, team members are working as a second set of eyes for their pilots in the air. Grygiel said power outages, flooded roads and even drones in the sky are problems the rescue teams could face.

"We just have to look for additional obstacles that we typically wouldn't see that we see right now,” he said.

Their mission is to evacuate patients from hospitals affected by rising floodwaters. They expect to help around 190 people, if not more.

"We are going to go into the hospitals, where all access have been cut off to the hospitals, where they are going to evacuate the ICU,” he said.

The Air Evac Lifeteam will transport some of the patients to San Antonio, Texas, and other areas that weren’t hit as hard by Hurricane Harvey. Grygiel said he expects to have crews in Texas for the next week.

"Many of these communities, it’s going to take a long time for them to rebound,” he said. “Not only do you have the damage down there, but you have the flooding. And with flooding comes a whole other set of problems."

Grygiel said their biggest hurdle right now is the rain as it continues to come down. He said that makes it tougher to fly, making their jobs a whole lot harder.

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is ramping up their efforts, as they expect to send a group to parts of Texas this week. The church has more than 100 congregations in the path of Hurricane Harvey, which is an estimated 100,000-to-200,000 people.

The church has 500 trained volunteers on the ground in Texas and expects to continue to send more. Rev. Ross Johnson said he thinks they will be there for the long haul.

"The church will be there for the initial impact of the storm and the debris and removal,” he said. “But, we also have the intention to be there for the long road to walk alongside disaster victims. Not just for right now, but for the months and years to come.”

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod built 6,000 homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Rev. Johnson said the church expects to do the same in Texas.

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