As families struggle to recover from deadly storms that swept homes in eastern Kentucky last week, rescue workers will soon have Ford F-150 pickup trucks providing much-needed energy and transportation.
“There are 6 to 8 feet of floodwater in homes,” said Air Force veteran William Porter of Team Rubicon, a nonprofit run by veterans and first responders who perform rescue missions on the ground for natural and humanitarian disasters. crises.
Ford Trucks will power the volunteers working to safely return flood victims home these days when the waters recede. Trucks have power outlets that can be used to light an area, run electrical tools, or even make coffee for tired workers.
“For us, the truck will support five to seven ‘gray shirts’ who can usually bring 10 to 15 families home per day,” Porter told the Free Press.
For Team Rubicon, the gray shirts worn by volunteers represent service and sacrifice.
Their focus now is Hazzard, Kentucky.
Porter, Director of Operations for Team Rubicon, said rescue workers have resided in five counties southeast of Lexington, where storms have left people dead, missing, homeless and homeless.
On Thursday, Ford Motor Company will ship two all-electric F-150 Lightning Pro trucks and two F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid trucks to the flood zone. Rescue teams on the ground assessed the situation and coordinated the timing and delivery of relief workers and vehicles to support them. Porter said the company’s Ford charitable fund has ramped up its emergency relief assistance in recent years with money and vehicles.
The Rubicon team used Ford hybrid trucks during Hurricane Laura in Louisiana in 2020 as well.
“A lot of times, electricity is scarce because power lines are down for hurricane, hurricane, or floodwaters,” Porter said. “Ford helped us be able to generate power from the site and allow survivors to have a safe place to stay (at home) rather than shelter. For Hurricane Ida, we were at the center of the devastation in Laplace, near New Orleans, and we didn’t have the strength for the first two weeks we were there.”
He said Ford supplied four trucks with on-board generators for Hurricane Ida rescue and relief in 2021. “These trucks power our operations,” he said.
Porter said the veterans attack problems strategically, while assessing the safety and security of all those involved. It’s about getting supplies, equipment, and strike teams to work quickly. Storms are causing power outages in some areas, while in others, service is cut off for safety reasons.
“The efficiency of the generators on board means we can run everything longer and need less downtime,” said Porter, “We can use the truck to power tools like circular saws to break drywall, cupboards, and carpeting. The truck provides electricity for work lights, fans.”
He said that not having to carry large, heavy generators to rescue sites is huge.
“All companies certainly don’t give us trucks,” Porter said. “Ford is the first I can remember.” “I just got word that we’re testing all-electric trucks, which will be an opportunity for us as we look for ways to reduce our carbon footprint.”
Danger is the key
Ford is shipping four pickup trucks to Tim Short Ford in Hazzard, Kentucky, which is near the center of the flooding. They will provide relief from there for the Ford Fund’s disaster response community partners, Team Rubicon and ToolBank, another nonprofit founded by military veterans.
“One member of the service department lost his entire home,” David Mitchell, director of new car sales for Tim Short Ford, told the Free Press on Thursday. “A lot of people here have been affected.”
In addition to sending $250,000 worth of trucks, the Ford fund is also collaborating with the United Way of Kentucky to provide support for recovery and rebuilding in the coming months, Mike Levine, Ford’s director of North America product communications, told Free Press.
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Ford is sending King Ranch and Platinum hybrids to eastern Kentucky because that’s what’s ready to go now. These trucks are manufactured at the Dearborn Truck Factory and the Rogue Electric Vehicle Center, also in Dearborn.
Shoot buffalo too
When the Ford team hears about a crisis or disaster through the press, from auto dealers or alerts from disaster relief partners, the Ford Fund determines if it can help, always providing essential services to the underserved, said Jim Graham, director of core services at Ford Fund.
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In Buffalo, New York after the deadly shooting in Topps in May faded from the headlines, the grocery store remained closed for two months. Ford went there to help, too.
“The food store was close to the Ford plant there,” Graham said. “When this food store broke down, the area became a food desert. We worked with the United Way and provided food financing.”
“We are focused on the long-term recovery,” Graham said. “We are one of many players entering. We want to participate as a good citizen of the community, whether we have a factory there or not.”
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The Ford Fund, not affiliated with the Ford Foundation, is a charitable arm of the automaker that provides access to critical services including basic needs and social justice for local, national and international communities. Its budget was $74.4 million in 2021, according to the annual report. It has donated $2.2 billion since 1949.
Quick response
Graham said Ford has strong relationships with veterans and support for veterans, so working with Team Rubicon and Tool Bank is a natural.
“They are deploying their personnel immediately,” he said. “Team Rubicon deals with disaster strategically, as they would in a military operation. These are specialized groups that clear things up and train people to do what they are doing.”
Ford also sent vehicles when western Kentucky was hit by hurricanes in December.
“Kentucky is home to many Ford employees and customers…it’s important to our team that we make a difference with our recovery efforts,” Jim Bombeck, vice president of Ford operations and new model launches, told the Free Press. Trucks to places they can help like we did (making personal protective equipment) through the Apollo project to fight COVID.”
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