Four Honolulu paramedics stranded in New Orleans in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have access to food and water, and are now working to help others.

That's the word from their Honolulu bosses — Dr. Libby Char, director of the city Department of Emergency Services, and Emergency Medical Services Chief Patty Dukes — who talked yesterday about their colleagues who weathered the hurricane on the 12th floor of the Hotel Monteleone in the city's storied French Quarter.

Char said the four feel they're safe because they're surrounded by National Guard troops but they still don't know when they'll be able to come home. Yesterday, they first moved to a command center at Harrah's Casino where they expected to sleep outside, but they were moved again last night.

"There apparently was some shooting near the command post where they were treating ill and injured people," Char said. "All four women are safe. The police decided to move them to a shelter for emergency responders. Hot food and hot water are available there."

Dukes said the four city paramedics — all women in their 20s and 30s — have been in touch with her through a series of brief telephone calls. Yesterday morning, she said, she heard despair in the voice of Melinda Shiraki, the senior member of the crew.

The tension grew when the four realized that all 200 people in the Hotel Monteleone had to leave when the hotel started running low on diesel fuel. They had felt secure inside, but Dukes said they could see looters going through neighboring businesses from their hotel windows. Char said the scene they described was "pretty overwhelming," with the city under water, looters roaming the street and no clear idea about when things would get much better.

Dukes said "they were watching out the window, watching the destruction happening out on the street."

She said it helps that all four are close. They had taken vacation time to travel to New Orleans for a professional development conference of the National Association of emergency medical technicians.

After they found they could help, Char said, Mayor Mufi Hannemann put them back on the job. "Because they've been put to work, we've put them on the payroll," she said.

Both Char and Dukes said the four will learn valuable lessons that they can share when they get home. On a personal level, Dukes said she now plans to travel with a flashlight, batteries and some food.

Shiraki, a 10-year paramedic, is the senior member of the crew there. Doreen Kitagawa has nearly three years of experience. Jill Takayama just graduated and Rochel Ortiz is a paramedic in training.

Shiraki has survived another tragedy. In February 2004, her husband, Mandy Shiraki, an EMS district supervisor, was killed in an airplane crash on the Big Island while working a part-time job for Hawai'i Air Ambulance.

Char said the families and friends rely on each other daily. "It's really an 'ohana if you look at the work these paramedics do every day, and they do that for a living, you really develop a bond," she said.

She said they ended up out of food last night after they came across a family with children who hadn't eaten for days. "They shared what little they had left with those children," she said.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.