After Hurricane Irma, Fairfax County Team Rescues Sick Elderly Woman

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA—With least 57 are confirmed dead from the wrath of Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean and U.S., every life saved during search and rescue efforts is heroic and meaningful.

Fairfax County residents can be proud to know their hometown heroes are making a difference. The Virginia Task Force 1 team, which includes around 80 Fairfax County members, have headed out to some of the most devastated areas like the Florida Keys, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

On Tuesday, the first responders deployed to St. Thomas in the Virgin Island were searching the area when residents informed them of a sick elderly woman trapped in her house. The team immediately responded, discovering the sick woman in a storm-damaged house. Authorities say she was too sick to leave her home or seek medical help.

The VA-TF1 team provided medical attention and get her to St. Thomas EMS personnel. The first responders continued to help until she was taken to the hospital.

Watch: Satellite Images Show Hurricane Irma's Caribbean Destruction

Around 40 members are conducting search and rescues at St. Thomas, 20 at the nearby St. John island, and others are helping in San Juan, Puerto Rico and the Florida Keys. The team's main objective was to find survivors that were not able to evacuate their homes before the hurricane.

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The team was activated last Wednesday, a day after some of the first responders had just returned from Texas, during Hurricane Harvey rescue operations. The VA-TF1 team includes swiftwater trained personnel with equipment, a search and rescue team and rescue dogs.

The storm made landfall in the Florida Keys Sunday morning as a Category 4 storm. At its worst, Irma ripped through the Caribbean as a Category 5 storm.

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Irma: 57 Confirmed Dead; 9.5M Without Power; $55B In Damage; Uplifting Moments, Too

Image via Fairfax County Fire and Rescue