Wylie’s EMS program manager Heidi Hawkins, along with teams from Colleyville, Abilene, Grand Prairie Fire, Sachse, Richardson, North Richland Hills, and Taylor and Wise Counties, was deployed to provide aid following Hurricane Beryl. Courtesy Wylie Fire-Rescue

In response to the devastating impact of Hurricane Beryl, Wylie Fire Rescue, in collaboration with other cities in Texas including Sachse, deployed first responders to assist affected counties in Texas earlier this month. 

The state mission, coordinated by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Emergency Medical Task Force (EMTF), aimed to provide much-needed medical support and emergency services to communities hit hardest by the storm. 

Heidi Hawkins, Wylie’s EMS program manager who’s been trained as a Medical Incident Support Team (MIST) member, detailed the extensive efforts made by the team during her 10-day deployment. 

“On July 8, 2024, I received a request from DSHS to assist with operations in the Houston area,” she said. “I met up that night with ambulances and an ambus (ambulance bus capable of holding 20 patients) and headed to Lufkin.”

Upon arriving in Lufkin, Hawkins was tasked with supporting four counties north of Houston that had been without power since the storm.She traveled with another MIST member from Colleyville Fire, an Ambus and crew from Abilene Fire, and an ambulance strike team (five ambulances and a supervisor) from Grand Prairie Fire, Sachse Fire, Richardson Fire, North Richland Hills Fire, Taylor County EMS and Wise County EMS to Livingston to assess the situation and develop a plan.  

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