This morning Medical Teams International (MTI) deployed a team of five medical professionals to the city of Cebu, in the Philippines. Off-duty TVF&R Battalion Chief Paramedic Ian Yocum, Lieutenant Paramedic Jason Morgan, and Lieutenant EMT Robert Petracca were part of this team that is mobilizing shipments of medicine and medical supplies to the area impacted by Typhoon Haiyan.

TVF&R will provide updates on its members via Facebook and Twitter as information becomes available. Those wishing to support MTI’s efforts to provide medical care to those impacted by Typhoon Haiyan, can donate online.

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This is not the first time TVF&R medical personnel have joined doctors, nurses, and other medical professions as part of a MTI deployment. To date, more than 26 TVF&R paramedics and EMTs have responded to countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Japan and Uganda. In Vietnam and Sri Lanka, teams of TVF&R firefighters assisted in the creation of regional and nationalized emergency medical services systems, which remain in place today. In Cambodia, their teams were tasked with providing first responder refresher courses for hospitals throughout the country. In total, TVF&R firefighters have provided more than 4,175 hours of training and assistance worldwide.

Each TVF&R firefighter funds their trip from their own “out-of-pocket” funds. These caring individuals pay on average $2,000 out-of-pocket and take time-off from their jobs and time away from their families to help others in need across the world.