When the president of the Austin Firefighters Association gave out his personal cell phone number last week during a live interview on KXAN News Today, he had no idea just how many people would reach out.
Battalion Chief Bob Nicks told people to give him a call if they needed help. He promised an off-duty firefighter would try to come to pick them up in a truck, and get them to a warm shelter.
As soon as the interview ended, the calls started coming in.
“By the time I got to work I had a queue of 30 or 40 calls,” Nicks said. “I got over 400 calls that day.”
Nicks said the first came from a couple in their 70s without food, heat, or water for three days. The pipes above them had just burst.
“Water is raining down on them,” he said. “That’s a life and death situation.”
Later, a 97-year-old woman called in a similar situation.