Three Red Cross volunteers from New York City deployed Saturday to help victims of Hurricane Irma in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Additional volunteers were heading to other islands, Florida and the Atlantic Coast.
A Red Cross staff member and two DART members, active and retired FDNY firefighters who volunteer with the Red Cross, are headed to the Virgin Islands on Saturday.
"We're ready," said Doug Bainton, one of the DART members. "We train as firefighters to deal with situations as they come. We're ready to do the job."
The Virgin Islands have suffered extreme damage from the storm and the need for help is astronomical.
"There isn't a comfortable place to sleep and stay. Food and resources will be scarce," said Josh Lockwood, CEO of the American Red Cross in the greater New York region. "There just isn't any basic infrastructure left on the ground that can be relied on."
Jason Lyons is also making the journey to the islands. He lived there for many years, a skill set that will prove invaluable.
Local
"I think I should provide a fresh eye as to what was where and how we can maneuver ourselves in order to get around," Lyons said.
Search and Rescue teams from New Jersey were also making their way South to help U.S. residents deal with Irma.
This is the second deployment in just weeks. There's already nearly 100 Red Cross volunteers from our region helping in Texas.
But the Red Cross says they do have resources to handle two natural disasters at the same time.
They're sending tens of thousands of ready to eat meals and 120 emergency response vehicles.
Meanwhile, utility company PSE&G is dispatching 154 of its employees to Florida on Sunday to help Florida Power and Light restore electricity in the wake of the storm.
