KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasNew Orleans First Responders Respond to Criticism
New Orleans paramedic, Chris Keller talks with Reporter Chris Saldaña.
Firefighter s and paramedics from New Orleans meet at the Railhead Bar .
A flooded New Orleans street.Contact Reporter Chris Saldaña
The New Orleans firefighters and paramedics who are in Las Vegas for some much needed rest and relaxation are talking to the media about their experiences at home and their time here. Their trip has come with some criticism.
"Evacuees, refugees, what ever you call them, it's me, everybody in this room," The Railhead Bar at Boulder Station Casino turned into a room where firefighters and paramedics from New Orleans shared their stories.
Paramedic Chris Keller has been enjoying Las Vegas, but he never forgets what he left behind. "We're victims, too. It took me several days for that to sink in. We're actually in the same boat of the people we're helping."
Being in Las Vegas has allowed Chris to get away from the death and destruction. But he says, when people realize where he is from, the memories are re-lived, "Everybody wants to talk about New Orleans, which is the opposite of what we are here for. But because everybody has been so gracious that's the least we can do is share our experiences."
Many are ridiculing Chris' time here. The Las Vegas Review Journal posted a cartoon in Thursday's edition, where characters are looking for New Orleans first responders, but find a bulletin board stating they left Las Vegas before the storm.
Chris can't believe items like this would surface, "It is disappointing to see things like that. To think we are just out to and get away from all that we do. That's not what this is about. "
But he is quick to thank the people of Las Vegas, and says he might be back permanently. "I like Las Vegas, but I will be there until my work is done. I'm not going to abandon my brothers and sisters. Maybe after, I'll come out this way.
The Review Journal cartoonist did comment on his work. Jim Day said, "They should draw their own conclusion. Editorial cartoons tend to offend some people. It was intended for those who left their post during and after the storm, not the ones who stayed."
