Paul Walker's charity, Reach Out WorldWide, heads to Nepal

Leanne Suter Image
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Paul Walker's charity, Reach Out WorldWide, heads to Nepal
Local firefighters are on a mission to help in the earthquake recovery effort in Nepal and they're doing it with help from late actor Paul Walker's foundation.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Packed and ready to go, Cody Walker prepares for an emotional journey to Nepal. It's his first mission heading up the disaster relief organization, Reach Out WorldWide or ROWW, founded by his late brother, actor Paul Walker.

"It's bittersweet. I am very happy for what he did leave behind for us to continue. These are all people that really cared about Paul too, it's not just me," Cody Walker said.

A paramedic in Oregon, Cody Walker's life took a devastating and dramatic turn when his brother was killed in a fiery car crash near Rye Canyon Loop and Kelly Johnson Parkway in Valencia. The 26-year-old stepped in for Paul Walker to help finish "Fast & Furious 7," which he was filming when he died. He is now also keeping his brother's memory alive by continuing the charitable work he loved.

"It's easier to jump on with an organization that you like and you wanna support as a celebrity, but it was more important to him to really be in the trenches and get dirty," Cody Walker said.

The nine-member mobile disaster medical team, consisting of one doctor and several local firefighter-paramedics, including one from the Orange County Fire Authority and three from the Pasadena Fire Department, will be sent to the hardest-hit areas.

"Typical patient counts for our team that we've seen in the past can range from anywhere from 150 to 200 people in a day. The nice thing about a team our size is that we're extremely mobile and we're extremely flexible. We typically operate in areas that have not seen care and that's where our focus lies," said Dave Marquez of the Pasadena Fire Department.

Everyone on the team is ready to jump into action, keenly aware that the man who gave ROWW its heart will be right there with them.

"This is exactly what he'd be doing right now. ROWW would be doing this exact same thing. The only difference is that I'm here and he's not, and I know he's looking over us and he's there, he'll be there with us," Cody Walker said.

The ROWW team is set to spend a week in Nepal. Nearly 80 members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Medium Urban Search and Rescue team have already landed in Nepal, as more resources head to the quake-ravaged country to help.