2 Firefighters From HoCo Headed South To Rescue Hurricane Victims

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Two of Howard County's firefighters are headed to Louisiana as part of the Maryland Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team that will assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura.

Battalion Chief Steve Hardesty and firefighter Dain Yakich will be serving alongside the Official Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department Page, Montgomery County (MD) Fire & Rescue and FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency. Teams from Virginia also have been deployed. These specialized teams are trained to handle rescues in a water environment and a collapsed building environment.

The crew left at approximately 1:30 a.m. Thursday. It's their first deployment during the coronavirus pandemic. The caravan has two tractor-trailers, two box trucks and a dozen vans and pickup trucks towing boats that will help reach flooded neighborhoods, according to Pete Piringer with Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Services. The trip will take the team approximately 20 hours and they will arrive in Baton Rouge either late Thursday or early Friday.

Historic Hurricane Laura made landfall early Thursday in Cameron, approximately 45 miles south of Lake Charles, bringing with it sustained winds of 150 mph. Heavy rains deluged Louisiana Thursday morning along with strong winds as a weakening Hurricane Laura headed northward, according to weather reports. The storm threatened to cause further damage inland after smashing the Lake Charles area and causing at least one death, reported Fox News. The first fatality from the storm in Lousiana is believed to be a 14-year-old girl who died when a tree fell on her home, according to the state's governor John Bel Edwards.

According to citizen reports, skyscrapers and other buildings had their windows blown out and many buildings were missing their roofs. Trees are uprooted and power is out for many customers. Deep water has accumulated due to the storm surge. Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm, but has since weakened to a Category 2 with winds of 110 mph. The National Hurricane Center has warned the surge could be "unsurvivable" in some areas, but some people still refused to leave, Louisiana's governor said.

MoCo @MontgomeryCoMD Maryland Task Force-1 @fema Urban Search & Rescue team are headed to the Gulf States in response to #HurricaneLaura @mcfrs MDTF-1 allied agency members @PGFDNews BC Bender & @HCDFRS BC Hardesty & FF Yakich are an integral part of the team & response https://t.co/L6U5burF8I pic.twitter.com/RnY3eKzZYz
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) August 27, 2020