Eighty-one firefighters from an elite unit within Los Angeles County Fire Department, known as USA-2, packed their bags to get on a plane headed to Turkey as part of a massive relief effort in the wake of the massive earthquakes that struck Monday morning.
L.A. County Fire Department Interim Chief Anthony Marrone announced in a news conference Monday evening that the specialized search and rescue unit had been deployed by USAID, the U.S. Agency for International Development. The team is only one of two in the country qualified to assist with international search and rescue missions. The other team, based in Fairfax, Virginia, will also be deployed.
“This team is highly skilled and elite in urban search and rescue,” Marrone said. “They are specially trained to help in rescue efforts, especially like the earthquake that just struck.”
In total, 81 personnel, six K-9 units and three structural engineers from the Los Angeles area will go to Turkey. Some of them are seasoned veterans, and others are newer to the department – but they are enthusiastically jumping in to help all the same. As they prepared to leave, huge piles of cargo containing heavy rescue equipment, food, and first aid equipment waited to be loaded into a helicopter.
“This is what we live for,” said L.A. County Fire public information officer Sheila Kelliher. “This is what we signed up for.”
“USA-2 has undergone extensive training, including advanced mobilization exercises and international diplomacy to be prepared for a response of this nature,” said a statement from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
One earthquake Monday, with a magnitude of 7.8, brought down whole city blocks in a region marred by civil war. Another earthquake hit nine hours later with a magnitude of at least 7.5. International rescue agencies have come en masse to help as bitterly cold temperatures have begun to set in.
Kelliher said that the funding for the aid mission comes from federal…
Read the full article here
