Will Fischer, community services coordinator at the AFL-CIO, sends us this update from Oklahoma:

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May 31, 2013, 7:30 p.m.: The alarm sounded. It was a house fire. As the firefighters gathered and donned their gear, the sky turned an eerie yellow-gray, signaling a severe storm. The rain came down in sheets. This was Moore, Okla.; a town reeling from some of the most devastating tornadoes on record—and another lurked overhead.

The fire truck weaved in and out of traffic and over and around debris from the previous day’s storm and pulled up to the corner of 8th Street and Sweetgum where the blaze roared. The winds picked up and prevented the firefighters from using their master stream. Hand lines were being pulled by the firefighters in one direction, and the winds were pulling them, at times, in another. Flames blew across the street. “You’re aware there’s a storm, sure. There’s the rain, the wind, the hail,” says IAFF Local 2047 President Brian Foughty, who fought the fire that night. “But there’s also a fire and we’re firefighters—we have a job to do.”

After five hours, the flames were quelled and the storm passed. The firefighters returned to the station. After cleaning up, grabbing some chow and trying to catch a little sleep, they were back helping their community recover—removing debris, going on medical calls and fighting fires.

June 1, 2013, 3:30 p.m.: Yesterday, Jackie Boyce hadn’t quite known what to expect. She extended an invitation a few days ago to the Steelworkers District 2 Women of Steel to volunteer with the Oklahoma State AFL-CIO’s relief and recovery effort. Would she be driving alone to Oklahoma City from Texarkana, Texas? No, seven said yes.

They hauled brush, raked leaves and picked up limbs; their muscles grew sore, their hearts warmed. “It was different than anything I’ve ever done,” says Boyce. “[It’s] so nice to get to help folks in need. And the looks! My goodness, those looks and those expressions a sister or brother from the union family gives you. It simply says thank you, thank you for caring.”

June 3, 2013, 2 p.m.: “The tools I have as Debra the staffer help me do great work that, honestly, I feel like I’m doing as Debra the citizen of Oklahoma,” says Debra Wojtek, the Oklahoma State AFL-CIO communications director and Labor Action Network (LAN) coordinator. The LAN is a tool that state federations, central bodies and unions use to “cut turf” for walks and build phone lists during the political election cycle.

“We’re able to take FEMA ZIP codes and cut out the storm’s path and tell you not just how many union families live in the path, but what union they’re a member of and what their name and phone number are,” says Oklahoma State AFL-CIO President Jim Curry. “This is just a new way of using an existing tool.”

So far, the Oklahoma State AFL-CIO and a team of volunteers have made thousands of calls to union households to offer assistance and get resources to people. Often, the person on the other end of the line assures they’re OK and it’s on to the next call. But, as Debra points out, too often, it’s pure heartbreak. “I hear people tell me the saddest stories. Sometimes they talk and talk and then will say that I’m [Oklahoma State AFL-CIO] the only person who’s really asked how they were doing.” 

Read the rest of the Dispatches from Oklahoma community services feature on the @Work website.