BROOKNEAL, Va. (Oct. 5, 2022) — One week after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida, Foster Fuels' emergency fueling operation has grown to over 100 trucks and personnel active in supporting the relief efforts. The company has assets across Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to deliver lifesaving fuel and water during Hurricane Ian's devastating aftermath.
Through federal and private-sector contingency contracts, Foster has moved over 307,000 gallons of diesel; 125,500 gallons of gasoline; 29,000 gallons of propane; and 24,000 gallons of kerosene. In addition to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), industries supported include power utilities, data centers and major retail grocery chains.
The fuel provided by Foster helps run backup generators, keep utility crews' bucket-truck fleets active and first responders running rescue efforts. In addition to fuel, Foster provides other resources like diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and potable and non-potable water. The water is going to places like critical health care facilities that cannot function without uninterrupted access to clean, potable water.
"Our drivers are in good spirits," said Freddie Wydner, fuel consultant on Foster Fuels' Mission Critical team. "They are on call 24/7, and some are providing continuous on-site monitoring." Wydner is operating from Foster's mobile command center in Florida, where the team dispatches and communicates with Foster's logistics team located at their headquarters in Brookneal, Virginia.
Foster's Mission Critical team plans to stay on mission for as long as it takes. They preemptively staged trucks in Georgia ahead of the storm and have been active for almost two weeks now. The team is no stranger to long operational deployments, however. In 2017, the team was activated for a total of four months when three consecutive hurricanes hit, including Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico.
