The volunteers from “Operation Gut and Pump’’ stand around a sign.
Operation Gut and Pump to the rescue Operation Gut and Pump, organized by a small group of Fire Department of New York volunteers, began working with Breezy Point, Queens, residents soon after Sandy struck. Phil Pillet, a firefighter who works out of Ladder Co. 56, Bronx, N.Y., spent many days at the site. He said he was glad to help. “This area is rich with firefighters. I knew that we needed to help those who help others. If we took care of their homes here, they would then take care of everyone else,’’ Pillet said. Within days of Sandy and the subsequent fires that took place, an effort to help Breezy Point residents recover was organized. GNP’s goal was to stay for 30 days and gut homes and pump out basements, if needed, Pillet said. Thousands of volunteers came by to donate their labor, including off-duty firefighters like Pillet, but many more were everyday people so struck by the amount of devastation, they had to help. Bob Mancision is one of those people. A retired New York government employee, he donated many man-hours at the site, removing water-logged wood flooring and heavy pieces of soaked sheetrock. “I’m not a plumber or carpenter, but I know how to work the tools,’’ he said. He donated his time because he wanted to help out. “I can’t imagine what these people are going through,’’ he said, as he stood near
20 The Stevens Indicator
the GNP “headquarters’’ – several tents in the parking lot of the Point Breeze Volunteer Fire Department. Days before the group was pulling up stakes in early December, Pillet took a moment to discuss the group’s work. “Our job was to get rid of the first bit of devastation, the wet floorboards and the wet sheetrock, so that mold wouldn’t set,’’ he said. Pillet estimated that as many as 600 people would volunteer to help on weekends and that GNP helped thousands of homeowners. Firefighters from as far away as Tennessee, Chicago and New Orleans came to volunteer their time, as AmeriCorps members from across the country also lent a hand. A lot of residents were told misinformation right after the storm, Pillet said, adding they didn’t touch the damaged wallboards and floors until insurance companies could verify the wreckage. That was bad advice, Pillet said, and it added to the number of ruined homes. Vicki Byrner lives on Tioga Way, Breezy Point, Queens. Her home suffered damage to the main floor. She praised the GNP volunteers. “My home was under two feet of water and these guys came here every day that I needed them and worked,’’ she said. “They refused to take any money from me. I can’t thank them enough.’’ ❖ – L.T.
Anne Dutreuil ’10, a business analyst for the corporate offices of Bed, Bath & Beyond, is friends with many Stevens community members on Facebook. She lives in West New York, N.J., and saw the request from Student Life employees on Facebook to help the City of Hoboken. She couldn’t resist the desire to help. “I was born in Haiti and I consider Stevens to be my second home, my family. I was very involved with APO (Alpha Phi Omega, the service organization at Stevens) and with STEP (Stevens Technical Enrichment Program) while a student, so I like helping out when I can,’’ Dutreuil said. “I was happy to do it.’’ Dutreuil spent a full day walking up many floors in blackened buildings to help stranded residents, mostly checking to see that they were OK and that they had enough water and medicine for a few days. The highest number of floors she walked up? Eleven. “I didn’t do it at once,’’ she laughed. “I took some pauses.’’ Tim Lurie ’90 was a councilman representing Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., when Sandy hit. He spent days going around to area homeowners, helping them