Thursday, September 01, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Nevada rescue teams gear up
Firefighters, Guard members ready for worstW-JOURNAL
 Nevada Task Force 1 members pack supplies before leaving Las Vegas to help in recovery efforts in hurricane-ravaged areas. |
They saw on television and in newspapers the death and devastation left by Hurricane Katrina, but Clark County firefighters had no idea what to expect when they were dispatched Wednesday to Mississippi on a "historic" rescue mission.
"We always expect the worse. That way, if we find something else, it's not so bad," said Capt. Chris Blackburn, 37, moments after he hugged his wife and said goodbye to some of his five children. "I am still better off than the people I am going to help. We have a roof over our head, and everybody is alive and healthy."
Not knowing if they'll face flooding, dead bodies, fires, viruses or dysentery, the firefighters of the Nevada Urban Search and Rescue Task Force must be prepared for anything, medical specialist Trent Jenkins said.
The task force's 25 tons of equipment includes generators, makeshift bathrooms, tents, specialized cameras and audio gear for searching collapsed buildings. There's also a saw with a diamond-chip blade capable of cutting through 6 inches of concrete.
"We have everything in our medical cache, from anti-fungal cream to Advil to major narcotics to antibiotics to all kinds of other stuff," said Jenkins, 38, the father of seven. "This is an opportunity to help people. That is what we do."
The Nevada Urban Search and Rescue Task Force is one of 28 similar teams across the country. Many of the teams are being sent to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to help search destroyed buildings, clear roadways, provide medical treatment and do whatever else must be done, the firefighters said.
In addition to the task force, a 20-member medical team from the Nevada National Guard was sent Wednesday to Baton Rouge, La.
And a company of 50 to 75 military police officers from Southern Nevada prepared Wednesday at the Henderson Armory for possible deployment as early as today, said Capt. April Conway, Nevada National Guard spokeswoman.
They, too, didn't know Wednesday what they would be doing during a deployment of up to two weeks, she said.
"They were told to pack their aid bags," she said of the medical team. "So, they could help inoculate people from waterborne and airborne diseases. They could be working at a makeshift hospital, or helping at a free-standing hospital. We just don't know."
Meanwhile, representatives of the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross in Las Vegas said the organizations had received nearly $250,000 for hurricane victims by noon Wednesday through donations and telethons sponsored by local television stations.
"We have not seen an outpouring of generosity like this since 9-11," said Red Cross spokeswoman Penney Towers.
On Wednesday morning, the search and rescue task force received word to leave by 2 p.m. for a 31-hour trip by buses and trucks to Hattiesburg in southeastern Mississippi.
But the departure was put off a couple of hours, and the task force's new orders were to drive toward Mississippi and await further instructions, said Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach. The group left about 5 p.m. from a warehouse near the Las Vegas Speedway.
The mission is just the second for the 14-year-old task force, which is affiliated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The costs of the operation are paid by the federal government, Leinbach said.
The task force is composed of about 65 specially trained county Fire Department personnel and a handful of structural engineers, emergency room surgeons, Las Vegas canine units and others, Leinbach said.
"This is a historic event for our department," outgoing county Fire Chief Earl Greene said. "We've had members of our team respond to disasters in the past, including the World Trade Center after 9-11, but this is the first time ever so many members have been activated to respond to an emergency."
Firefighters said they expect the hurricane rescue effort to be much different from the three days they spent at Ground Zero in the latter stages of the rescue effort after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
At Ground Zero, the firefighters worked in a centralized area with a specific duty. But the hurricane recovery effort will take longer, it will be spread out over three states, and it could involve a variety of tasks, they said.
Firefighters Brady Dobbs, 27, and Mark Kittleson, 41, weren't with their team members in New York after 9/11, so the Katrina rescue effort will be their first deployment as task force members.
"Our top priority is to find people alive, but,
with the state of things, we may be doing body recovery," said Dobbs,
a father of one who has been with the Fire Department for about 18 months.
"I don't think it will take me by surprise, because these are the
kinds of things we deal with every day."