Hurricane Dorian: Maryland First Responders Lend Hand In Georgia

ROCKVILLE, MD — As Hurricane Dorian makes its way up the East Coast, a Maryland emergency response crew is packing up its operations in Florida and relocating to Georgia.

In response to #HurricaneDorian2019 FEMA Maryland Task Force 1 Urban search and rescue team has been relocated from Florida to Augusta, Georgia, MD-TF1 based @MontgomeryCoMD there’s one of several FEMA US&R Teams deployed to work w/ local/state/federal resources https://t.co/P5hCEosLfJ
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) September 4, 2019

Called Maryland Task Force 1 (MD-TF1), the Urban Search & Rescue Team is one of 28 that FEMA has assembled nationwide, of which 16 were deployed to help with the response to the hurricane.

MD-TF1 consists of 80 to 85 people, Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said.

The group specializes in heavy concrete rescue and light-weight collapse, such as wood buildings that may be impacted by hurricane-force winds and floodwaters, he said. Doctors and structural engineers are among those on the team.

The team of urban search and rescue personnel left Rockville on Friday, Aug. 30, and was in Florida by the time the hurricane made landfall in the Bahamas Sunday, Sept. 1.

Now that the Category 2 storm is headed north, the group is relocating to Augusta, Georgia, to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with relief efforts.

"The opportunity to go out and help another community in the time of need is ... the drive and passion of all of our first responders — being able to help," Goldstein said.

SEE ALSO:

• Maryland Search And Rescue Team Helps FEMA With Hurricane Dorian