Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and left much of the Gulf Coast in ruins. Firefighters were among the first to respond, wading through floodwaters, rescuing survivors and bearing witness to unimaginable loss.
Today, their stories continue to shape how we remember the storm and the resilience that followed.
A firefighter’s untold story of humanity after Katrina
When Hurricane Katrina hit, communication systems collapsed — but firefighters refused to stop working. Retired District Chief Albert Faciane, Jr. recalls how he and fellow officers swam into a flooded Walmart, grabbed every two-way radio they could find and built their own communications network, WWLTV reports.
That lifeline allowed them to coordinate rescues and even let citizens call for help. Survivors were brought to the only high ground left, Chef Menteur Highway and Bundy Road, where neighbors built an impromptu community, cooking on grills, caring for the elderly and sharing medicine and formula.
In the middle of it all, Faciane kept noticing a woman waving from the fifth floor of a high-rise. Her name was Connie, and she was trapped in a powerless wheelchair due to brittle bone syndrome. Each day, she waited in her window, signaling to rescuers below.
When they finally reached her floor, they learned Connie had not been alone. A stranger had promised to stay with her — and he did, even as he quietly passed away in a chair outside her door. The firefighters named him “Bob,” a symbol of hope that never left Connie.
For years after, Connie sent postcards to the fire station wishing the firefighters Merry Christmas. Faciane still thinks about her whenever he reflects on Katrina — a reminder of resilience, compassion and the makeshift communities that rose from the floodwaters.
New Orleans firefighters share unseen video of rescues during Katrina
Nearly 20 years later, former New Orleans Fire Chief Charles Parent is still struck by the raw footage filmed by Capt. Richard McCurley during the storm.
The video captures firefighters using their own boats to reach stranded residents, pulling survivors from balconies and creating a lifeline for thousands, WDSU reports. Parent estimated at least 15,000 rescues — each one, he told his crew, a miracle.
But the film also shows the cost. McCurley himself was promoted to captain just weeks after Katrina, only to be killed in December 2005 when a crash pinned him under a fire engine. He was 33.
Parent said McCurley didn’t have a uniform to be buried in, so Parent used his own uniform.
“He was a great loss,” Parent said. “He had the wherewithal to film and document everything the fire department in New Orleans East was going through. They did their job.”
From first responder to campus safety leader: A firefighter’s Katrina journey
For Michael Antoine, Hurricane Katrina was the defining moment of his career. At just 19, he joined the New Orleans Fire Department as a firefighter/EMT and was on duty before, during and after the storm, Louisiana First News reports.
“You’re talking about 80% of the city just totally underwater. You know, unfortunately, we did see dead bodies and kids and folks who did not make it through that storm. So that was most of the terrifying moments,” Antoine told Louisiana First News. “That was probably the worst event I’ve experienced in my 23 years of being in public service. I have not witnessed anything comparable to Hurricane Katrina.”
The experience changed him — not only as a firefighter, but as a person. Antoine went on to work for FEMA and the Office of Homeland Security. Today, he serves as LSU’s Vice President of Campus Safety, Emergency Preparedness and Response.
His Katrina helmet still sits in his office as a reminder of the storm that shaped his path.
“It inspired me to actually get off my butt, go to school, and be more, do more, be better, and be a part of the change, be a part of how we ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” said Antoine.
A legacy of service and sacrifice
These stories reflect the countless ways firefighters responded to one of the nation’s worst natural disasters.
Katrina took lives, homes and hope — but it also revealed the humanity, bravery and resilience of the first responders who refused to give up.
