REGIONAL (KRON) — A retired San Mateo firefighter has responded to the area affected by Hurricane Matthew to bring relief to residents.
Retired San Mateo firefighter, Carl Kustin, was deployed on Thursday to the hurricane’s path, Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman said.
Kustin flew out of San Francisco International Airport at 3:00 p.m. after being deployed by the Menlo Park Fire Protection District as part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency incident support team. The team supports federal rescue teams and county first responders.
Kustin is part of California Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 3 which is sponsored by the Menlo Park Fire Protection District and has responded to other disasters such as Hurricane Wilma in 2005. 25 years ago, Kustin helped find Task Force 3 and has stayed active as a divison group supervisor.
“I’ve worked closely with Carl at the Oklahoma City Bombing, World Trade Center Collapse, Hurricane Katrina and numerous trainings and other events,” Schapelhouman said in a statement. “He’s one of the best special operators we have and he will be a significant asset to local responders as part of this support team.”
Bay Area PG&E crews were asked before Hurricane Matthew to help restore power in the affected areas of Florida but those crews hav ebeen asked to stand down because the affects of the storm were not as great as expected, according to PG&E spokesperson Abby Figueroa.
PG&E officials are relieved that the affects of the storm were not as great as feared and crews were happy to prepare to respond, Figueroa said.
As of Friday at 8:00 a.m., about 475,000 Florida Power & Light Company customers were without power due to Hurricane Matthew.
Stay with KRON4 News for continuing coverage of Hurricane Matthew on-air, online and on our app.