Midland Firefighters Deployed to New Orleans

Two Midland firefighters left this morning with Michigan Task Force 1, headed to New Orleans to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. They’re part of a 45-member FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force that specializes in urban search and rescue, disaster recovery, and emergency triage and medicine. The teams are deployed to emergency and disaster sites within six hours of notification. They will be deployed for up to two weeks.

Task Force 1 is a specialized rescue group that utilizes emergency responders from throughout Michigan. There are teams throughout the U.S. ready to assist with disasters when local responders have taxed their own resources to the breaking point or don’t have the resources or training to begin with. Michigan Task Force 1 provided assistance in Midland during the dam failure and flooding last year.