TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The pirates at Ye Mystic Krewe aren’t just trying to steal the keys to the city of Tampa, they’re doing their part to serve the community year-round, especially when people need it most. Masu.
After Hurricane Milton, several generators were distributed by the Gasparilla Crew to help families in need.
Crew members said this was not the first time they had to respond like this after a hurricane hit.
Hurricane Milton brought record-breaking winds to the Tampa Bay area, leaving thousands without power.
Float Warehouse Manager Christopher Rivers said this isn’t the first time he’s helped his neighbors, but this hurricane was the most devastating.
“Gasparilla has been able to help so many of our employees, friends and families who work here,” Rivers said. “We were actually able to rent out the generators on the back of the parade floats to help move people around. Some of them didn’t come back for two or three weeks.”
Ye Mystic Krewe rented out all the generators, and when one family finished using them, they passed them on to another family.
“They were really nervous during this time. They just got passed around and helped everyone out the best we could. We, as a crew, did what we had to do and did a great job. I’m very happy to be able to help everyone,” Rivers said.
Rivers said people sometimes forget how great it is to be able to turn on the lights and eat refrigerated food until they can no longer do so.
Just before the hurricane hit, they filled up all the gas cans to make sure the generators were ready for use.
This year they added six more generators.
“So if something like this were to happen again, we would be able to help six more households. We decided to upgrade to Quiet Pack units,” Rivers said. “It was actually in last year’s budget, but we didn’t do it and held back. After experiencing two hurricanes, we decided to take the plunge this year. .”
The crew currently owns 22 generators and plans to rent them out to the community after the hurricane.
Generators can be picked up by people or delivered to them if there is no safe way to transport them.