The D.C. region continues to answer the call for hurricane help in the South. In Montgomery County, a specialized rescue team known as Maryland Task Force 1 is sending a new 45-member team to North Carolina to relieve the first team sent to help with the recovery from Hurricane Helene.
The team will take over those who have been helping check on people and bring in supplies, but Montgomery County Fire and EMS Chief Corey Smedley said this outgoing group could end their deployment in Florida, depending on how much damage Hurricane Milton does.
“What FEMA has already done, in preparation for Milton, was to request additional resources so that we can extend the team for the 14 days. We’re going to do a refresh of team members,” Smedley said.
At their warehouse in Rockville on Tuesday night, the team made up of members from multiple regional fire departments arrived to grab the supplies and tools they need for their mission.
“This is a mutual aid type of setup, where we have not only Montgomery County assets, but also, we have Howard County, Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County and the District of Columbia, all embedded on the team together,” Smedley said.
Smedley said while refreshing a team to extend the mission isn’t the norm, it isn’t unheard of.
He said bringing the others home and getting them out of the areas that have seen so much devastation in the past few weeks is also important to the health of the members of the team.
“(They can) take care of themselves, not only physically, but mentally, take care of anything outstanding at home and see their family members,” he said.
Help heads to Florida from area utility companies
Early on Tuesday, eight repair crews from the Pepco utility company hit the road toward Florida. The teams have been requested by a power company in Florida to help restore the power after Milton moves through.
“They’re taking a two-day trip to get down there, and we’ll wait and see what the hurricane brings, and they’ll be ready to support when needed,” said Tammy Sanford, director of electric operations for Pepco.
The team will head down with their trucks, tools and other supplies needed to sustain themselves in the short term. The crews will also have vehicles that help make repairs in hard-to-reach areas.
“We are bringing with us some of our tracked vehicles so that we can get off-roads and travel into locations where work might need to be done, where it’s not safe to travel with a truck,” Sanford said.
Also in their convoy is an emergency response vehicle which has extra gasoline, if they encounter difficulty filling up.
Sanford said it is a tough ask for teams, who will most likely use base camps like the one setup at Tropicana Fields in St. Petersburg, Florida, to sleep at and get supplies needed to keep repairs going.
“We’ve got some of the best linemen in the business, and they give up time away with their families and their friends on a moments notice to travel south and help others in need. We’re just so, so thankful for them,” Sanford said.
Dominion Energy, which is based in South Carolina, has linemen from Virginia that are currently helping to restore power from Hurricane Helene.
Peggy Fox with the utility company said those crews will stand prepared to respond to Hurricane Milton, too, if needed.
“This includes more than 350 additional lineworkers and tree crews who will be strategically deployed as needed,” Fox said.
Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) is also sending 15 teams to help restore power in Florida.
“BGE is sending more than 40 employees — including lineworkers, fleet specialists, safety, and other support personnel — to assist in the effort to restore power to those impacted by the storm,” the company said in a statement.
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