Deputy chief Thomas Cunningham, along with Immokalee emergency personnel, stationed at Immokalee Technical College before, during, and after the storm.


Inside Immokalee Technical College, 35 Immokalee firefighters and Collier County EMS wait for Category 4 Hurricane Irma to pass.

At noon Sunday they stopped responding to emergency calls as wind gusts reached more than 70 miles per hour. Their makeshift command center lost power at 2 p.m. and started running on generators. 

After responding to eight calls that morning, the day shift took a much needed break. That included hot dogs, video games, an Uno tournament and movies like the Dwayne "The Rock"Johnson starrer "Baywatch."

"We're basically just here waiting, and that's the hard part," said Thomas Manning, a driver and engineer with the Immokalee Fire Control District.

He was eating lunch and chatting with fellow firefighters in the school's cafeteria.  

To pass the time, the 46-year-old played cards and spoke over the phone with his three children and wife, who sought shelter, along with other first responders' families, at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples.

Manning has worked as a full-time firefighter for nearly six years in Immokalee. Before that, he was a volunteer firefighter for two years.

This is the first time he's a experienced a hurricane like this and got a chance to access the area Saturday night and Sunday morning before the hurricane hit. 

"We saw a lot of water," Manning said. "I've witnessed high winds before, but I've never been through something like this. We're just trying to get into fireman mode now."

This isn't the first hurricane for Lt. Curtis Summeralls, but it's probably the biggest. 

Twenty-five years ago the 55-year-old responded to Miami after Hurricane Andrew slammed Florida. 

"I've been through several of these hurricanes," Summeralls said. "But (Hurricane Irma) is going to cause a lot of destruction. This is a very unique town; there's a lot of migrants, farms and a lot of agriculture. There's going to be a lot of reorganizing and rebuilding."

Summeralls started his firefighting career in 1987. He's a fourth-generation Immokalee resident. He's worked for Naples and has served the Immokalee area for the past 20 years.

"I really enjoy doing the job. You have to have the passion, and you have to have a lot of heart. You don't do it for the money; you do it for the love of the job," he said. 

His family found refuge from the hurricane at the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

"My family understands this is my job and what I do and what comes along with it," he said.

Derek Neuman sent his wife and son to Atlanta to keep them safe from the hurricane.

The 31-year-old, who has served the area the past eight years, said he can now focus on the job at hand. 

"I can just worry about me and the guys here. Now it's just a waiting game, and once it's all over we can get out and do our job," he said. 

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