Ten emergency workers from American TransMed Ambulance Service in Gaffney and Spartanburg took this group photo Sunday in Lafayette, La. The emergency workers were busy Saturday and Sunday evacuating patients from hospitals and rehabilitation centers in Lafayette to inland locations. The crews were going to hunker down in a church gymnasium in Lafayette on Sunday evening waiting for Hurricane Gustav to hit. With Gustav headed toward the Gulf Coast faster than originally expected over the weekend, a group of emergency workers from Gaffney and Spartanburg was busy getting some of the most vulnerable people out of harm's way.

After arriving in Alexandria, La., on Friday, 10 workers from American TransMed Ambulance Service went right to work on Saturday morning evacuating patients from hospitals and rehabilitation centers in Lafayette as far as 300 miles inland.

On Sunday, the workers were planning to hunker down in the gymnasium of a Lafayette, La., Baptist church to wait for the storm to pass over.

As of Sunday evening, Gustav was expected to hit the Gulf Coast on Monday as a Category 4 hurricane, just a step below the worst rating of Category 5, according to the Associated Press.

The workers from American TransMed Ambulance initially had been put on standby Thursday and put on notice that their services might be needed hundreds of miles away. They were given a green light to go at 9 p.m. Thursday and they were on the road with packed bags and fully stocked ambulances by 1 a.m. Friday.

Brian Lawson, the director of operations for the Gaffney-based ambulance service, said four of the 10 emergency workers came from the Gaffney office while six came from the ambulance service's Spartanburg office.

"Once we get there, (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) is the one who handles everything," Lawson said.

Emergency workers summoned to help in the Gulf initially were being staged at two locations. Those coming from the north and east were staging in Alexandria while those coming from the west were staging in San Antonio, Texas.

Lawson said the crews had 24 hours to reach their destination after being deployed. "I told them to take their time and drive safe," Lawson had said of his Friday morning conversations with his crews. They arrived in Alexandria at about 3 or 4 p.m. Friday and the crews spent the night in their ambulances.

This isn't the first time local emergency responders have gone to Louisiana. Lawson said his crews also were deployed for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as Hurricane Dean, though Hurricane Dean never caused as much trouble or damage as expected and crews were able to return home after just 72 hours.

Should the ambulance crews require an extended stay because of Hurricane Gustav, Lawson said they would be rotated after two weeks.