Four Spokane firefighters and veterans are headed to North Carolina today [Wednesday] to help with the recovery after Hurricane Florence.
They’re members of the group Veterans Community Response. That’s an organization devoted to supporting combat vets in their readjustment back to civilian life.
President Darrin Coldiron says the local team leader is a former deputy chief of the Spokane Valley Fire Department. The two sawyers who are going are disabled combat veterans. Their job will be to fell and clear trees and other debris.
The Spokane group has also sent team members to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to help after natural disasters.
Coldiron says the work is therapeutic for his volunteers.
“We find that they really get a lot of fulfillment," Coldiron said. "Guys have been coming home from St. John (Virgin Islands) with a bit of a glow and every one of them has told me it’s been one of the best experiences of their lives.”
Coldiron says his group also helps with forest restoration projects in Washington and sponsors retreats for local veterans.