Firefighters are raising money to help hurricane-stricken first responders in the Appalachian Mountains

MILFORD, Ohio – Father and son firefighters Charles and Brian Evans said they couldn’t watch first responders in the Appalachian Mountains hit by Hurricane Helene suffer without helping.

Brian, a professional firefighter in Union, Kentucky, said he regularly vacations in the area with his family and feels a responsibility to help, but training has kept him from personally donating time.

Instead, he worked with his father, a volunteer firefighter in Milford, to create a fundraiser called United for Appalachia to help responders in the South rebuild.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re with the Milford Fire Department, Union Kentucky Fire Department, North Carolina Fire Department or wherever. “You’re all family, you stand up for each other and do what you can,” Charles said.

Working with Little Miami Apparel, just a few hundred yards from the Milford Fire Department, Brian said every shirt sale through their fundraiser will help fund recovery efforts.

The Milford Community Firefighters Club is also accepting monetary donations. The deadline for the first T-shirt sale is October 23rd.

Meanwhile, the charity Matthew 25: Ministries announced on Friday that, in addition to its Helene support, it would be mobilizing additional support for those affected by Hurricane Milton’s landfall in Florida.

“This is a heartbreaking situation,” said Tim Mettey, CEO of Matthew 25: Ministries. “This is the third hurricane to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast area this year, causing additional damage to areas already trying to recover from Hurricane Helene and affecting areas still recovering from Hurricane Michael in 2018 .

The ministry has released a list of new ways to help them. Click here to find them.