Clark County specialized rescue team heads for Georgia as Irma looms
A day after Nevada Task Force-1 team members returned to Las Vegas from assisting victims in flood-ravaged parts of Texas, others packed their gear and headed to Georgia on Thursday night in anticipation of Hurricane Irma.
The 80-person emergency technical rescue team planned to leave for Georgia as soon as the team was assembled, rather than within the normally allotted four hours after activation, program manager Paul Bailey said.
“It’s because of the urgency of what’s happened,” he said.
A county spokesman said the team headed out the door toward their destination at 11:27 p.m.
Earlier Thursday night, a team consisting of 70 rescue personnel, 10 drivers and four service dogs met at Task Force-1 headquarters at 3955 N. Pecos Road, near Craig Road. From there, civilians, local firefighters, doctors and other partner agencies loaded equipment and prepared to leave — some not even 24 hours after returning from their Hurricane Harvey deployment.
Clark County Fire Department Chief Greg Cassell said about five team members from the Texas deployment were returning to action for Hurricane Irma.
Team leader Jeff Lytle said Task Force-1 will travel to a staging area at Georgia’s Robins Air Force Base in advance of the looming Category 5 storm expected to make landfall in Florida this weekend. From the base, they will wait out the hurricane and travel to where they are needed.
Nevada Task Force-1 is one of just 28 specialized teams in the United States to provide technical emergency response during local, state and federal emergencies, the Clark County Fire Department said. Task Force-1 focuses on structural collapse rescue efforts but is also trained for swift-water and confined-space rescues.
Cassell said most of the team consists of emergency responders, so they’re used to working in traumatic situations.
“They’re not excited that something’s happening, but since something is happening, they’re excited to be part of the answer,” he said.
On Wednesday night, a 14-person team made up of civilians, local firefighters and other partner agencies returned to the Las Vegas Task Force-1 headquarters on Pecos. They and a four-person hazardous material team were deployed Aug. 27 to southeastern Texas, where the specialized water rescue group performed rescues and measured floodwater depths.
The water rescue team traveled to Austin, Texas, before dispersing to different locations as needed, Lytle said Wednesday. He was set to deploy to Georgia on Thursday night.
A member of the water rescue team recalled working with the military at an airport in Beaumont, Texas, to fly more than 2,100 residents away from the flooding. Those residents, Michael Porter remembered Wednesday, carried trash bags full of belongings.
“That sticks out,” Porter said. “They’re carrying everything they could carry, and everything else was lost.”
His family was at headquarters ready to greet him Wednesday. His daughter hugged him, and he stood back-to-back with his son, comparing heights. A black Labrador retriever named Allie whimpered at his feet as he spoke. Allie is a Task Force-1 service dog, although she didn’t make the trip to Texas.
“(She) missed me quite a bit,” said Porter, patting her.
On Thursday, Porter arrived at the Task Force-1 headquarters with a new goal — prepping for deployment. As he hurried across the warehouse where his fellow team members packed, Porter turned and smiled.
“I get to take my dog this time.”
Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.
