Beverly 80-Person Emergency Response Team Returns From Louisiana

BEVERLY, MA — The 80-member Massachusetts Task Force 1 team deployed to Louisiana to assist in Hurricane Ida search and recovery efforts began arriving back at its Beverly headquarters on Wednesday after a week on the Gulf Coast.

The team of structural collapse specialists, building engineers, swift water and standing water rescue personnel, EMTs, doctors and K9 handlers departed Beverly for the New Orleans area on Aug. 29 to help Gulf Coast first responders.

An additional 16-person team from Beverly was deployed to New Jersey to help areas the storm's remnants flooded out last week.

The Louisiana team's mission included searching for survivors amid structures that suffered wind and rain damage.

The deployment was originally scheduled for two weeks but was subject to be extended or reduced depending on the needs of first responders in the region.

The program, which is managed through Beverly's Emergency Management Agency on behalf of the federal government, includes members from all New England states.

Last year, Task Force 1 sent a 25-person team to search for survivors and survey charred buildings amid the Oregon wildfires.

The Task Force was also the first of its kind deployed in response to the 9-11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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