As Hurricane Ian bore down on Southwest Florida, there was an army of Kentuckians standing by to help.
"We can be anywhere in the country inside of 24 hours," said Matt Daley of Emergency Disaster Services. "Our guys are seasoned and have seen multiple storms. Any storm that has had a name over the last 30 years, EDS has been on the ground in some capacity,"
EDS is a Lexington-based company that responds to incidents like the hurricane to help communities recover. In Florida, they've created a place for power line workers and first responders.
"We create an entire city in which these folks can live and do their work. You have shower trailers. You have restroom trailers. You have sleeper trailers. Laundry facilities," Daley said.
And after a long, hard day working in a disaster area, there's nothing like a hot dinner.
"All made from scratch. Nothing out of a box. That way we can feed these guys a great meal. Tonight, we're going to have steak, potatoes, and shrimp," Daley said.
Daley said EDS has between 800 and 1,000 people, mostly Kentuckians, on the ground in Florida spread out between 11 or 12 camps. He said those camps can house up to 6,000 people. The one he is based at has about 2,500 people in it. When they respond to disasters like Hurricane Ian, they have no idea what they'll find or how long they'll be there. It's tough work, but they're glad to support those recovery efforts.
"It's an honor to serve these guys because they're true heroes in what they're doing. They're doing the same thing. They're away from their family and all that. When you can provide a steak dinner and some seafood and they see that and they realize your equipment's there for them, the smiles, it's why we do this," Daley said.
