(KLFY) Emergency medical personnel remain at ground zero of Hurricane Ida.

According to Acadian Ambulance Services Marketing Vice President Randall Mann, Acadian Ambulance transported more than 500 Ida evacuees and coordinated the transport of another 300 using state and FEMA ambulances.

Mann says there’s after the storm to prepare for.

“You got to worry about carbon monoxide, as much as we warn people, that becomes an issue and people getting cut and scraped as they’re cleaning up debris” he said.

EMT Amber Bentley explains that there are other challenges include navigating the debris left behind.

“We’re basically doing all we can to get to them and there’s obstacles; there are cable lines.  

One of our units actually went airborne the other day when it hit a cable line,” Bentley said.

Paramedic and National EMS Academy Instructor Anastasia Quereau says there’s another weather element working against them.  

“With the heat advisory that’s going on, we’ve been dealing with a lot of dehydrated patients; predominately the elderly who think they can go out and save their house and they really just take a hard hit,” Quereau added.

Also, in the recovery stage, there are ‘mini cities’ set-up in different locations for emergency personnel to rest, shower and eat.

“It’s so glorious when you can take a shower after 19 to 20 hours straight.  It’s great,” Bentley explained.