Philly firefighters Gustav-bound

Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers and Mayor Nutter, fresh off his trip to the DNC, offered well wishes tonight to 23 firefighters and EMS workers at the Fire Academy in Northeast Philadelphia.

Ayers said the group -- comprised of 10 paramedics, 10 firefighters, one battalion chief and two mechanics -- are headed to Louisiana along with 12 other "strike force" teams from Pennsylvania to help out ahead of Hurricane Gustav.

"We were down there before, when Hurricane Katrina hit," Ayers said. "Now it's almost three years to the day when that happened, and it hits you that, wow, this could be happening again. So we want to help out however we can." Ayers said the team will visit New Orleans and many other towns and cities across Louisiana.

Good luck to all involved.