San Antonio continues to play an integral role in helping out victims of Harvey's destruction.
In fact, there are currently more than a dozen air ambulances waiting to launch from the San Antonio International Airport and head to Houston.
“I initially volunteered. I told my boss, ‘Hey if we need people, I’m ready to go,’” Caine Taylor said.
“My wife is ready for me to come home, but she understands why we’re down here,” Josh Davis said.
Taylor and Davis are just a couple of the many nurses, medics, and pilots that work for Air Evac Lifeteam. They’ve come from all over the country to temporarily call the San Antonio International Airport, headquarters.
“Manpower right here, currently we have a total of 90 medical crew members,” Chase Schriewer said.
The team is currently working under the direction of FEMA, however, as of Tuesday afternoon, all crews and their 14 aircraft were grounded until the weather clears up in Houston.
When asked how tough and frustrating it must be for the team, having to sit around and wait before they can help, Schriewer said, “It is very tough because as you know, there are people out there that they feel hopeless.”
“I’m anticipating taking patients out of local ICUs, that may be on a ventilator, that may be on multiple medications going through a pump,” Taylor said.
“We’re ready to get here and do our jobs. That’s why we came down here, to help people,” Davis said.
Each helicopter carries one patient, one pilot, one medic and one nurse. And for some of the first responders, the disaster hits close to home.
“I lived in Houston for a lot of, for my entire life, until I moved to Dallas,” Taylor said.
The Air Evac Lifeteam group anticipates being deployed for at least the next five to seven days. The team could also move if FEMA determines they need to be stationed somewhere else that might be more accessible.