2 Cape May County Firefighters Giving Aid in North Carolina

Two firefighters from Cape May County were among the earliest first responders to the hurricane-ravaged Asheville, North Carolina Region.

Cape May County Firefighters on Deployment in North Carolina

The Cape May Firefighters posted on Facebook on Tuesday to acknowledge the work of two local firefighters who have been in the western North Carolina area hard hit by Hurricane Helene for almost two weeks now.

Lt. William Szemcsak from the Cape May City Fire Department and Firefighter Matt Long from the Ocean City Fire Department deployed almost immediately, joining NJTF1 and many other FEMA teams in the Asheville, North Carolina Region.

The team has been conducting search and rescue operations.

Helene’s heavy rains in the state’s western mountains caused massive flooding and mudslides in the Asheville region, cutting off most communication and making the roads impassable.

Hundreds of people are still unaccounted for, and search crews are trudging through knee-deep debris to learn whether residents are safe

More than 200 people were killed across the southeast, making Helene the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005.

There's no word on how long the South Jersey firefighters will remain on deployment in North Carolina.

North Carolina's State Website Details Rescue Efforts

According to the website for the state of North Carolina,  as of Sunday, Oct 6,  local and state emergency responders now have the assistance of approximately 1,700 North Carolina National Guard and 1,000 active-duty military personnel."

More than 1,600 responders from 35 state and local agencies are supporting the response and recovery efforts, including public health nurses, emergency management teams, veterinarians, teams with search dogs, and more.