Nineteen firefighters from four local agencies deployed last night to assist residents and first responders in Texas after Hurricane Harvey devastated the area. According to a news release, the team members have expertise in swift water rescue. Firefighters from City of Roanoke and Salem Fire-EMS, Roanoke County Fire and Rescue, and Franklin County Department of Public Safety plan to be on the ground in Texas for 8 days.
From Roanoke Fire-EMS: At approximately 11:10pm tonight, 19 firefighters from four local agencies deployed to assist residents and first responders in Texas recover after Hurricane Harvey devastated the area with heavy rains and flooding. This team has expertise with swift water rescue and heavy technical rescue. Ten firefighters from the City of Roanoke
Fire-EMS Department, 5 from the Salem Fire-EMS Department, 2 from the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department and 2 from Franklin County Department of Public Safety made up the team. The team took 7 vehicles as well as trailers packed with boats, equipment and necessary supplies to be self sufficient for the 10 day deployment. Their destination is College Station, TX which is an 18 hour drive from Roanoke. College Station lies approximately 1 ½ hours NW of Houston. The team will be on the ground in Texas for approximately 8 days to
assist with water rescues, search and recovery efforts and any other situation that may arise during their deployment. The request for this regional team came as an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request from the State of Texas. The request was received by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management who in turn asked our region to deploy a team. Teams from Virginia Beach, Fairfax and the VA National Guard are also in Texas.
This isn’t the first team this team has deployed. Teams have previously went to Louisiana,
Florida, Maryland and most recently to West Virginia to assist after weather related disasters.
