Phoenix Fire task force deploying to help with aftermath of Hurricane Helene
Sep 27, 2024, 1:02 PM | Updated: Sep 30, 2024, 11:16 am
National guardsmen and others work to rescue people stranded in a flooded Steinhatchee, Florida, neighborhood after it was hit by Hurricane Helene. An Arizona task force was deployed to help with search and recovery efforts on Sept. 27, 2024. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
PHOENIX — An Arizona task force is deploying to the southeastern United States to aid rescue and recovery operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Arizona Task Force 1 (AZ-TF1), which is managed by the Phoenix Fire Department Special Operations Section, planned to embark Friday afternoon after being activated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
AZ-TF1 is one of 28 FEMA task forces nationwide.
The Arizona task force has has a broad range of skills and specialized equipment. Its members are trained to handle swift water rescue capabilities, structural collapses, confined space situations, heavy rescue and hazardous materials detection.
AZ-TF1 also works with rescue dogs that can help find trapped victims or recover bodies.
In June, the Arizona task force was deployed to New Mexico to deal with devastation caused by wildfires and flooding.
AZ-TF1’s other previous deployments include Hurricane Katrina in 2005, The 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Why is Arizona task force needed in southeastern US?
Hurricane Helene left an enormous path of destruction across Florida and the entire southeastern U.S. on Friday. As of Friday afternoon, the storm reportedly killed at least 40 people in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina. The death toll was expected to climb as the search efforts continue.
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Helene was a Category 4 hurricane at its strongest. It made landfall in Florida’s rural Big Bend area Thursday night, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.
The damage extended hundreds of miles to the north, with flooding as far away as northeast Tennessee.
All five who died in one Florida county were in neighborhoods where residents had been told to evacuate, said Bob Gualtieri, the sheriff in Pinellas County in the St. Petersburg area. He said people who stayed because they didn’t believe the warnings wound up hiding in their attics to escape the rising water.
“We tried to launch boats, we tried to use high-water vehicles and we just met with too many obstacles,” Gualtieri said. He said the death toll could rise as emergency crews go door-to-door in the flooded areas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
