Local emergency medical technicians headed to New York to help with Irene response

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) - Four local EMTs are on a mission of mercy, driving to New York State to help victims of Hurricane Irene.

One MEDSTAR ambulance with a team of two left at three Friday morning and another team took off just before noon.

Their first stop will be an Air Force base thirty mile north of New York City. From there they could be sent to any state where Irene makes landfall.

There is a possibility they may be needed to help evacuate nursing homes and other residential facilities. However they may also provide medical care after Irene passes.

Larry Vandeberghe and Bill Musilli have no idea where they"ll end up but Bill says, "We all do this job because we love to help people."

MEDSTAR is part of FEMA's Rapid Electronic Deployment System. Katrina was the first hurricane MEDSTAR responded to.

The trip from Michigan to New York will take about twelve hours. The teams will stay in constant touch with dispatch but at this point have no idea how long they'll be gone.