Members from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, West Palm Beach Fire Department and Delray Beach Fire Rescue departed Saturday.
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. —
A regional Type 1 HazMat strike team from three fire rescue agencies in Palm Beach County deployed Saturday to assist after Hurricane Isaias struck Northwest Florida.
Less than 24 hours after receiving deployment orders, a regional Type 1 HazMat strike team from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, West Palm Beach Fire Department and Delray Beach Fire Rescue departed Saturday morning.
The team departed PBCFR headquarters for Tallahassee to receive an assignment in the Panhandle.
The mission is to contain hazardous materials and protect residents and responders, freeing other fire rescue and emergency management resources to answer urgent calls.
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“Resilience starts at home, long before deployment orders arrive,” PBCFR posted on Facebook. “Trailers packed and ready to roll. Trained people ready to respond. Preparation gives us strength and depth to answer your call and help our neighbors when disaster overwhelms them. That readiness takes years of relationships to build.”
Hurricanes lead to fuel spills, gas leaks and chemical releases require, which require specialized responders.
“Our crews are heading toward someone else’s hardest day,” PBCFR said. “Someday, help may be heading toward ours. We prepare for both, because no community should face disaster alone. We bend, but we don’t break. When help is needed, we answer.”
On Thursday, Uban search and rescue teams from Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade adeployed to the Florida Panhandle to assist with relief efforts.
About 30 firefighters with PBCFR’s Urban Search and Rescue Team deployed on its first state mission to send highly specialized rescuers ahead of the hurricane. In all, nearly 90 members of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Urban Search and Rescue Team, including four canine teams, made the trip.