|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Menlo Park Fire Protection District is sending several firefighters as part of a team of 80 personnel to assist with Hurricane Milton recovery and response in the southeast. The storm “is looking like the storm of the century,” President Joe Biden said on Oct. 9.
Menlo Fire sponsors the FEMA California Task Force 3 urban search and rescue team, which is composed of specially trained members of 18 agencies up and down the peninsula, as well as 60 specially trained civilians. The specially trained civilians include emergency room physicians, canine search and rescue handlers, structural engineers, hazardous materials specialists and more. There are 220 members of the task force in total.
Fire Marshal Jon Johnston said that the task force is sending teams trained in water rescue, rescue from collapsed structures, emergency logistics, medical aid and search and rescue.
Along with the team, the task force is sending over 60,000 pounds of support equipment to Florida and Georgia, including boats, rescue tools and communications equipment.
Menlo Fire, as part of the task force, has previously responded to several hurricanes, including Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Lane and Hurricane Dorian.
Johnston said that Menlo Fire always retains full staffing at home, even when sending members of the department to aid agencies in other states.
California Task Force 3 is just one of three California FEMA search and rescue teams that the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom has deployed to the southeast.
The personnel are being deployed to Georgia for staging before being dispatched to Florida to provide emergency response in areas impacted by the hurricane.
The deployment is a partnership between the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, also known as Cal OES, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Cal OES is proud to deploy highly skilled teams to be ready to help those in need as Hurricane Milton heads toward the U.S.,” said Nancy Ward, director of Cal OES. “These search and rescue professionals have the training needed to navigate extreme environments and assist in the effort to preserve life and property.”
The deployment comes in the wake of the governor sending search and rescue personnel to Florida to support Hurricane Helene rescue efforts. Additionally, on Friday, Oct. 4, PG&E sent over 400 personnel and 300 vehicles to Georgia to provide mutual aid to Georgia Power to restore power across areas impacted by Helene.
On Tuesday, PG&E said it would reassign personnel and vehicles to Daytona Beach, Florida, to support power restoration efforts after Milton passes through the area.
“California stands with all those who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” Newsom said in a statement. “As Hurricane Milton approaches landfall, California is sending additional specialized resources to support critical emergency response and recovery efforts.”
Bay City News contributed to this report.
