Fairfax County Fire Chief Richie Bowers told WTOP that 70 members of Virginia Task Force 1 arrived in Puerto Rico Saturday ahead of Hurricane Jose. The team is in a holding state until the hurricane passes, after which personnel will be deployed to the Virgin Islands for a search, rescue, recon, building collapse assessment mission. Ten members of the task force are in Georgia, standing by for Hurricane Irma.
Bowers said that the 70-member team is mobile and can be ready to join the 10-member team in Hurricane Irma relief efforts in the United States if called to do so by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said the teams are “well-prepared and well-situated” to provide assistance.
In addition, there is another team in Fairfax that is “ready to go,” whenever FEMA calls on them. “It’s already packed; roster’s already started,” Bowers said.
.@VATF1, one of our search & rescue teams, headed down to Puerto Rico yesterday to support #Irma response operations. pic.twitter.com/NdEJgtpi8W
— FEMA (@fema) September 9, 2017
VA-TF1 has arrived in Puerto Rico. #HurricaneIrma @ffxfirerescue pic.twitter.com/rZ484Cm50o
— VA-TF1 / USA-1 (@VATF1) September 9, 2017
WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report.
