As Hurricane Florence approaches the East Coast, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, today deployed the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services’ Urban Search and Rescue Team to provide support in the Carolinas.

According to a press release:

The team is comprised of 80 members, including those with heavy concrete structure collapse, wide-area search, and swift-water rescue capabilities. The caravan that departed this morning included tractor trailers, support vehicles, six K-9s, and six boats.

“I am very proud that Montgomery County is able to share the expert resources of the members of the Fire and Rescue Service’s MD-TF1 with other areas across the country during devastating emergency situations,” said County Executive Ike Leggett. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who will experience the worst from Hurricane Florence. To the members of MD-TF1, thank you for your service and stay safe.”

MD-TF1 is one of a very few specialized search and rescue units in the Country that has equipment, Hazmat Equip Push Packs (HEPP), to respond to incidents involving hazardous materials. The Hazmat pack assists the Urban Search and Rescue Teams whenever they encounter a hazardous material and contamination situations during their response.

“The men and women of MD-TF1 help the residents of Montgomery County and neighboring communities day in and day out, said Fire Chief Scott Goldstein. “Today these folks transition to traveling to the Carolina’s and helping those local communities during their time of need – a very rewarding experience.”

MD-TF1 was first deployed in 1994 after the Northridge Earthquake. That was followed by a response to the 1995 Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing and the September 2001 attacks to the Pentagon. They have been deployed in response to several hurricanes to include Katrina and Sandy.

Read the full press release for more information.