As people throughout Southwest Florida struggle to put their lives back together after Hurricane Irma, firefighters with the North Collier Fire Rescue District have been going door-to-door doing welfare checks in some of the worst-hit areas, like the Caribbean Park mobile home park near Wiggins Pass Road and U.S. 41. Many of the homes there suffered damage when the hurricane came through Sunday.
"I lost my lanai, I lost my carport, I lost my roof," said Caribbean Park resident Ken Boily.
Boily and his wife Janet are worried about exposed to the rain after their roof was blown off by the storm. Janet is on a breathing machine, and has been trying to contact FEMA for help.
"We've been on the phone with FEMA for two days now," Boily said. "And every time, we've got an hour-long wait."
"I have no place to go," Janet added. "I have a breathing machine that's starting to get moldy in there from the ceiling getting wet. So we're in a mess."
North Collier Fire Rescue personnel went door-to-door in Caribbean Park Tuesday to check on residents and make sure they were alive and well. But there's only so much assistance they can provide for homes with roof damage.
"They were saying, 'well, you're just going to have to wait until FEMA comes in," Boily said.
"It's so emotional because we feel it," said NCFRD Battalion Chief Frank Messana. "It's happened to us, it's happened to our neighbors, our friends."
Boily said his missing roof is going to be a big problem sooner or later.
"We put some canopies on the roof to hide most of the leaks," he said. "I'm afraid if it starts raining again, then we're going to lose everything."
For many, help is more likely to come from neighbors than anywhere else.
""The best thing I've seen, and it almost brings me to tears, is the neighbors helping neighbors," Messana said. "You've got guys going around on pick-up trucks with chain saws and setting up generators for people, and it's just been amazing."
Janet Boily told Fox 4 late Tuesday that she did finally get through to FEMA, and that they are working on getting her and her husband a hotel room.
