Baltimore County Fire Department Responds To Multiple Storm-Related Emergencies

Press release from the Baltimore County Fire Department:

July 16, 2021

Four members of the Baltimore County Fire Department who deployed as part of FEMA’s Pennsylvania Task Force 1 returned this afternoon to their operations base in Philadelphia after a 17-day operational deployment to the Surfside condominium collapse in Miami, Florida.

Fire Chief Joanne Rund and other leaders of Baltimore County’s Urban Search and Rescue team joined Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel in welcoming these members home.

BCoFD is extremely proud of the hard work and dedication displayed by these members. They worked 12-hour shifts in treacherous conditions sorting through debris and searching for victims.

The members are Fire Capt. Ethan Johnson, Fire Lt. Dave Gouak, Fire Lt. Brandon Watkins and FADO Shawn Drees. All are tactical rescue specialists and members of Pennsylvania Task Force #1.

This press release was produced by the Baltimore County Fire Department. The views expressed here are the author’s own.