Crime & Safety
Lakewood Firefighters Personally Run Relief Mission To Houston
The fire department collected items to help distressed residents, loaded them in a truck and drove them down to Texas personally.
LAKEWOOD, OH — On Monday morning, two firefighters from Lakewood loaded up a truck with supplies and set off for Texas. Jeff Kantorak and Dave Paydock, both members of Lakewood Firefighters Local 382, will personally deliver water, diapers, food and other items to help victims of Hurricane Harvey.
The effort to hand-deliver relief items started with Kantorak. In his off-time, Kantorak drives a truck for Recycle-It LLC. Kantorak approached Paul W. Osad, vice president of the company, and said he wanted to drive to the Houston-area. Kantorak even offered to foot the bill for the trip. Osad gave the OK.
Hearing the story, members of Local 382 jumped at the chance to help out. The firefighters donated their own money to cover the expenses for Kantorak's trip. (Subscribe to the Patch Lakewood newsletter for local news and updates.)
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"[Being able to help] means a lot," said David Harper, a Lakewood firefighter. "It's what we do. Everybody here loves helping people."
Hearing about the relief trip to Houston, many local businesses agreed to donate items to the effort. The firefighters said the list of companies pitching in was extensive and included: Marc’s, 620 Corporation, Medina Paper Co. Premier Development, Castek Aluminum, Jami Cahlik of State Farm, and Harlon Erwin-Mystic Imports.
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The turn-around time will be fairly short for the trip, Harp told Patch. The duo will deliver the diapers, water and other items to residents in the area and then head back to Lakewood.
Hurricane Harvey's destruction will cost the Houston-area billions of dollars. The reconstruction effort is expected to take years. School systems have delayed starting, city council meetings have been cancelled, curfews remain in place to deter looting and even the city's public services departments took hits because of the storm . The city lost 15 firefighting apparatus, 134 Houston Police Department vehicles, and 140 Department of Public Works vehicles, KTRK reported.
Photos from Lakewood Firefighters Local 382
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