Video: Columbus Salvation Army Says Thank You

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COLUMBUS, Miss.(WCBI)–The Salvation Army of Columbus is saying thank you to first responders as they remember Hurricane Katrina and it’s devastation occurring ten years ago. Emergency agencies and first responders are trained to handle any disaster and were prepared weeks in advance of Katrina. The Columbus Salvation Army officers are saying thanks to some local firefighters.

A hot summer day on the streets of The Friendly City and Salvation Army Officers Alan and Cheryl Phillips are handing out water and refreshments to Columbus Firefighters from their mobile canteen. A small gesture for their big service in times of disasters.

“I was at one hurricane where we had a problem with the battery in our canteen and the fire department came and a mechanic fixed it. We did not have to leave, so what they do is amazing,” said Major Alan Phillips/Columbus Salvation Army.

A canteen was used extensively while giving aide to victim’s of the storm that hit the shores of our coasts a decade ago.

“We fed people we had three meals a day and those meals were cooked on a huge like a 18-wheeler field kitchen. And they were distributed to the field canteens like you see this one here. They go out in the effected areas and feed people,” said Major Alan Phillips/Columbus Salvation Army.

The Phillips’ remember well how water in the streets and in one home threatened the life of a mother and her two children.

“And she was telling me she had to get up into an attic to be able to escape the waters in her home. And she survived and she said while I was up in that attic and my little children were right by me. They were holding their little heads up just to be able to breathe,” said Major Cheryl Phillips/Columbus Salvation Army.

Although there were emergency preparations well in advance of Katrina ten years ago, first responders and emergency agencies have learned a lot and are better prepared should there be another disaster like the one we all witnessed.

“We did have plans in place at that time but this was such a unique storm, that our plans were just overwhelmed because of the storm and the devastation that it brought with it on the coast line,” said Cindy Lawrence/EMA Director.

Salvation Army Mobile Canteens are able to serve about 500 meals a day and operate over a two day period.