Photos: Hurricane Harvey Victims Helped By Washington Firefighters

REDMOND, WA - Members of WA Task Force 1 Urban Search-and-Rescue team have been deployed to Texas to help victims recover from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. The storm is estimated to be one of the costliest in U.S. history and has destroyed up to 200,000 homes. Some cities were pounded with more than 50 inches of rain and flooding is mostly responsible for the rising death toll.

Task Force 1 has braved the dangerous conditions to perform water rescue missions and check in on families. Seventeen members of the team left on Sunday for Texas hauling gear and supplies, including four boats and a number of inflatable water vessels.

Established in 1991, the task force consists of 210 emergency responders from 21 agencies across Pierce and King counties. The team has responded to numerous disasters, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

Redmond firefighter and paramedic Mike Waite was deployed to Dallas to support field medical work. He is part of the Washington Disaster Medical Assistance Team, a rapid-response unit that stabilizes patients waiting for evacuations to hospitals.

“When disasters occur such as Hurricane Harvey, the nation’s emergency responders come together to help these distressed communities,” Redmond Fire Chief Tommy Smith stated. “We are very proud that our Fire Department can offer this assistance to FEMA and those devastated communities in Texas and Louisiana.”

Images via WA Task Force 1