VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – 35 additional members of Virginia Task Force 2 deployed on Thursday from Virginia Beach to help victims of Hurricane Ian in Florida.
The crew will be going to Punta Gorda, about 25 miles northwest of Fort Myers which has been hit hard. They'll join 45 other members of VATF-2 who left Saturday afternoon from the Fire Training Center on Birdneck Road.
According to Virginia Beach firefighter Brian Sullivan who has been part of VATF-2 for more than 15 years, they were in southern Florida Wednesday night but moved to Charlotte County, north of Fort Myers. Thursday morning, he told News 3 that local authorities are using helicopters to assess areas that need the most help.
He also said the team has been training and getting organized, and they are ready to go.
"We have equipment for a structure collapse, for flooding, for wind damage,” said Sullivan.
Captain Jon Rigolo, rescue team manager, said there will be a total of four trained dogs joining the crew. Two of them are on their first deployment.
He explained that the firefighters are not only specialized in search and rescue after a building collapse, but they help after all kinds of disasters like hurricanes and tornados.
"Virginia Task Force 2 is one of the most deployed systems in the country," Rigolo said.
VATF-2 is one of 28 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Teams.
