SCRANTON, Pa. — It's been nearly a month since Scranton Fire Chief John Judge got to sit down and work in his office. But he wasn't on vacation or training.
"So our stuff is packed, those members that are on the team. It's just a matter of making some final preparations here at home with the family, with work, and then, you know, heading down to Philly to get on the trucks and head out to help those that are in need," said Chief John Judge, Scranton Fire Department.
Chief Judge and other members of FEMA's Pennsylvania Task Force 1 spent the last 24 days in North Carolina helping with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
"Once we started to get into those mountains up on a Blue Ridge Parkway. I mean, there was a lot of devastation," added Chief Judge.
Whether operating on the ground or in the sky, Judge and other first responders worked long days, finding, rescuing, and sadly recovering those lost in the storm.
"The roadways look like a set of veins on a mountain. They're just no rhyme or reason. We're so used to urban settings where everything's gritted off. So even just finding where a house might be was extremely difficult."
After returning home, Judge says he won't forget how the community came together even during one of the area's most devastating times.
"What a resilient group of people, and just great people that were thankful to have us there. And it was encouraging to see that side of, you know, our population that everybody just came together, everything else is put to the side, and it's just neighbors helping neighbors."