For those of you who missed the story published in the Cumberland Times-News (Friday 01/29/2010) a local Lonaconing Man, Bobby Ritchie, returned home from his volunteer efforts in Haiti. This story is fantastically written, it definitely conveys the emotional aspect of what Mr. Ritchie experienced. While we as readers cannot begin to understand what Ritchie went through nor what he saw in Haiti, we can certainly respect the fact that he went out of his way to help those in need, possibly in turn changing his own outlook on life from here on out. Welcome Home Bobby!
Lonaconing man home from rescue work in Haiti
Jeffrey Alderton Cumberland Times-News
LONACONING — Bobby Ritchie spent Friday morning running errands. But he wasn't about to complain.
As a member of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team, the 34-year-old Lonaconing native and 113 fellow team members spent the last two weeks in earthquake-devastated Haiti.
"We were activated within an hour of the earthquake and it's great that U.S. AID (United States Agency for International Development) and Fairfax County allowed us to go. We had 16 rescues — nine made by our teams and seven in which we assisted with other teams. There were 134 total rescues by the time we left Thursday," said Ritchie.
Ritchie and his fellow rescue team members, which included doctors, canine handlers and engineers, returned home via a flight from the Dominican Republic to Washington Dulles International Airport. He was met there by his son Brycen, parents Bob and Joyce Ritchie, and fellow Lonaconing volunteer firefighters Gary Holshey and Tim Connor. As a volunteer firefighter and chief of Lonaconing's Good Will Volunteer Fire Company, Ritchie has seen and helped many trauma victims.
But nothing prepared him for Haiti's devastation and massive loss of life caused by the 7.0-magnitude earthquake of Jan. 12.
"We were actually the first team to arrive and the last to leave," said Ritchie.
Working out of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Ritchie served as a communications manager. "We had to set up towers and antennas to set up communications. We had to send guys out to work sites to ensure communications were set up. We primarily relied on two-way UHF?radios. After that we integrated into rescue operations.
"We went out to a hospital where they were doing surgeries in the parking lot and set up four tents to get the patients inside and under cover from the heat. We also set up a tent for UNICEF?and and one for another hospital. We were doing search and rescues until the day we left.
"There were dead bodies everywhere. There's no one word that can describe the devastation. It's something I will never forget. People who lost houses were clearing them out by hand and cleaning up. People sleeping everywhere, anywhere. Many are sleeping in tents made with sheets and sticks.
"You could get around but it wasn't easy. There are a lot of mopeds and pick-up trucks with two benches in the back in what the people there call a taxi. It will take years for the country to recover. They say over 3 million people are affected.
"It was all a blur in the first three days. We worked 24 hours the first three to four days. We slept on the ground the first few days until we got cots. We left them there for the people — and all the communications equipment, our tents, sleeping bags and other things," said Ritchie, who has worked as a career firefighter in Fairfax County since 1997.
Ritchie recalled the 6.1 earthquake that hit Haiti on Jan. 20 at about 6 a.m.
"Some people called it an after shock. But this was an earthquake. It lasted 45 seconds to a minute. Luckily, we didn't have anybody in the hole at the time. It's like a ride you can't get at Hershey Park or Kings Dominion." After spending the last two weeks in 90-degree temperatures, Ritchie drove through town Friday trying to adjust to the 13-degree temperature.
"My experience in Haiti has definitely changed me and my life. It makes you take another look at your life, how you live, what you expect in life. It affects you in every way.
"It puts everything in perspective. Kids over there are eating off the street or anything they can find. They're lucky to have a home if they have one.
"This will change how I do things. Time will tell how it has changed me. I'm thankful for what I have. People don't realize how lucky we are to have what we have."
Ritchie is off for a few days before returning to work next week.
"I'm trying to catch up on things now. Our fire department (Good Will) banquet is February 13. I have to get to work on all that stuff. Plus spending time with the little man," said Ritchie, with fidgeting 4-year old Brycen on his lap. "That's the most important thing."
