Updated Friday, June 13, 2008

N.C. Baptists blaze new trail with firefighters

By Steve DeVane

BR Managing Editor

About 30 N.C. Baptist volunteers are ministering to firefighters battling the largest active wildfire in the country.

N.C. Baptist Men officials dispatched workers and equipment to the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge area June 7. They have three shower units, three sleeper units, a laundry unit, a command unit, four generator units, a water tanker unit and a feeding team.

The fire has reportedly burned about 40,000 acres in Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties since it started June 1. More than 400 firefighters are battling the blaze, which led to air pollution warnings in the area, sent smoke west of Hickory and caused problems in the Raleigh area.

About 200 firefighters are staying at Mattamuskeet School, where the N.C. Baptist volunteers are based. N.C. Emergency Management officials are running their operation out of a band room at the school.

Lin Honeycutt, a member of Highland Baptist Church in Raleigh, is overseeing N.C. Baptist relief efforts.

The feeding team is from Region 1, with other volunteers coming from various parts of the state, he said.

The operation is different than other disasters, Honeycutt said. The team is using generators to power much of what he called a "mini-camp," including the sleeping units and the shower units.

"We're breaking new ground here," he said. "Once we get the right formula we'll be all right."

Generators are having mechanical problems, Honeycutt said. In addition to the four N.C. Baptist units, volunteers are using generators provided by the National Guard, the Air Force and Pender County.

Each day, N.C. Baptists are cooking 500 to 600 meals and washing 50 to 60 loads of laundry, according to Honeycutt. About 200-225 people are taking showers in the N.C. Baptist units, he said.

Disaster relief teams usually work with homeowners following hurricanes or tornadoes. Honeycutt said in this situation most of the interaction is with firemen.

"We minister to these guys, too," he said. "A lot of them are Christian folks."

Honeycutt called the fire a "disaster for the community, the state and nature."

Some officials reportedly think the fire won't be out for more than a month.

"I think people haven't grasped how serious this is," Honeycutt said.

Honeycutt said morale among the volunteers is good.

"We're very happy to be here," he said. "We're working a different environment than we're used to but it's still a blessing to be here."

Baptist Men is also sending a team to Cedar Rapids, Iowa the week of June 15 to help victims of flooding there. Volunteers will take the organization's largest feeding unit, Manna One, to the area.

Emergency officials have asked N.C. workers to be prepared to provide up toe 40,000 meals a day. They plan to start feeding people on June 17.