From crisis to community: How Thermo Fisher colleagues rallied after Hurricane Helene


Hurricane Helene left a trail of devastation and flooding when it made landfall in Florida’s big bend and headed north through western North Carolina, East Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. Nearly 1,000 Thermo Fisher Scientific colleagues call that region home.

The safety and wellbeing of the company’s colleagues is its first priority, particularly during natural disasters and times of crisis. This commitment was put into action in Asheville, N.C., the hardest hit area and where Thermo Fisher has four facilities.

“Our response to Hurricane Helene was not just about managing a crisis, but about coming together as a community to support one another in times of need,” said Laboratory Equipment President Robert Robinson. “This experience has strengthened our bonds and reminded us of the power of teamwork and compassion.”


Ensuring colleague safety

As the severity of Hurricane Helene became apparent, Thermo Fisher activated its emergency response protocols. Using specialized technology, the company’s Global Security Operations Center (GSOC) was able to identify 953 colleagues who live in the affected area and begin contacting them using Thermo Fisher’s mass notification system.

 

Despite power outages that disrupted communications and cell service, the GSOC, in partnership with key company personnel on the ground, successfully accounted for nearly all colleagues within four days. 

 

However, when it was determined that about 30 colleagues were still unaccounted, the Global Security team were dispatched to the Asheville area and check on the colleagues at their homes to confirm they were safe.


Helping fellow colleagues

Nearly 400 miles away, colleagues from Asheville’s “sister site” in Marietta, Ohio, volunteered to help their fellow colleagues in the Asheville area by coordinating truckloads of donated supplies, including personal care items and water that were delivered to Asheville.  The Millersburg, Pa., site quickly followed suit. 

 

In the weeks following the devastation, members of the company’s Veterans Business Resource Group (BRG) provided support with recovery efforts by helping residents clean their houses from flood damage and make necessary repairs.

 

“When you're in trouble or have a need, you can always find someone to help you within Thermo Fisher,” said Toni Sweeney, vice president, Human Resources, for U.S. and Canada. "People are willing to give their time and expertise to help a sister site and all fellow colleagues."

 

Despite the devastating aftermath, Asheville colleagues rallied to help each other and get the sites operational in less than two weeks.

Colleagues also set up a relief center to help those in need and coordinated on-site counseling. Local efforts were bolstered by Asheville Site Leader Kirk Ritchie. 

Just days after the hurricane hit, supplies provided by the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) began arriving into the region. To support FEMA with the influx of supplies, Thermo Fisher’s warehouse team freed up more than 17,000 square feet of critically needed storage space, then helped load and unload supplies while others rounded up more volunteers.

 “Within 10 minutes of announcing a need for volunteers to help distribute food, water, personal care supplies and more, we had more than enough volunteers and actually had to turn people away,” said Amber Goettlich, internal communications specialist.

“It has been truly heartening to see not only the Asheville community, but the Thermo Fisher community come together to help each other get through such a challenging time. It makes me really grateful to work alongside this team.”