![]() “We didn’t leave until we hit every single structure and every single boat,” stated Captain Bellamy. The map at the command center corresponds to the map on their iPads and there’s a blip on every place that has been searched. The team uses iPads to mark off each location and indicate whether the people inside are safe, or have evacuated or are in need of help. Technology is an immense help in this process. Firefighters came from other areas to help the families of fellow firefighters board up their houses and do whatever needed to be done to stay safe, since these men and women were busy handling preparations for the coming hurricane.Ī tedious part of the job is going door to door to check on every house and boat to make sure everyone is accounted for. ![]() More than a dozen emergency support response units were established with an Incident Command Center set up in Orlando. Units came from more than eight other states including Indiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, California, as well as Washington D.C. Seven other task forces from across Florida responded to this natural disaster−two from the Miami area, and one each from Southwest Florida, Hillsborough County, Orlando, Ocala and Jacksonville. This was the largest response in terms of search and rescue besides the September 11th tragedy,” he stated. This was larger than any that I had been on before. “What stood out in my mind was the size of the response, the number of search and rescue teams that were there. He serves in Logistics support for the team. ![]() They’ve been involved in three major events – Hurricane Michael in 2018, the Surfside condominium collapse in 2021 and Ian.Ĭaptain Mike Bellamy has also been a firefighter for twenty-three years. Rutledge has been with the USAR team since 2005. You look over and someone’s crying and that adds an emotional factor to the situation,” the 23-year firefighter veteran continued. Their whole life has been washed away by this hurricane. You go out there to help and you see that people have lost everything. However, it was “an emotional roller coaster,” as Task Force 7 Squadron Leader, Lieutenant Lee Rutledge, commented. There were some injuries, but no one was killed. It turned out that it was a private helicopter flying a fire chief and his IT guys. For a while, they didn’t know if any of their team members were on the helicopter. For example, about a mile behind their camp there was a helicopter crash. Their boots are heavy to begin with and then you have five to eight pounds of mud stuck to your boots, plus the equipment you have to carry, it’s physically taxing. One particular challenging situation was having to walk through six inches of silty mud everywhere you went. There were four issues they had to contend with−damages from high winds flooding from the rains and from the storm surge which measured 15 feet and the rivers that started overflowing days after the storm had passed. They bring in their own food, water and fuel for their vehicles. The eight task forces that serve Florida are entirely self-sustainable. The men and women were also flown in by Chinook helicopters to areas, such as Sanibel Island, that were cut off from the mainland and their equipment was brought in on barges. They also had high water military-style vehicles that are raised about three feet off the ground. It was rough down there the first few days waiting for the water to recede. “They started staging us in areas to keep us safe, yet close to the areas where we would be needed so that no time was wasted in getting us dispersed,” stated Luther McClellan, Public Information Officer with the task force. Right after Governor DeSantis declared a state of emergency, prior to Ian gaining hurricane strength and making landfall, the team got word that they needed to assemble. Task Force 7 is composed of twenty to thirty men and women and practice extensively for these types of scenarios. USAR teams are made up of firefighters and emergency personnel who, in addition to their regular training, receive special training in this important job that follows any type of disaster. ![]() Toyodoc (complimentary for customers) 15480 Cortez Blvd Skintastic (complimentary for customers) 250 Mariner Blvd Publix Brooksville Square 19390 Cortez Blvd Publix Lake in the Woods 4365 Commercial Way Highpoint Vending Box at Entrance 12251 Clubhouse Rd Visit one of these locations below to purchase a hard copy of The Hernando Sun newspaper:īrookridge Vending Box 7300 Brookridge BlvdĬhik Fil A (complimentary for customers) 13143 Cortez BlvdĮxpress Oil (complimentary for customers) 20145 Cortez Blvdįlorida Cracker Kitchen Vending Box 966 E Jefferson
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