Police/Crime/Fire  

County Urban Search and Rescue Team Deploying to Hawaii

A 70-member urban search and rescue team from Montgomery County is scheduled to deploy to Hawaii Wednesday to aid in rescue work following the wildfires.

Team members planned to depart from their Rockville facility.

Jason Light, Task Force Leader from Maryland Task Force 1, told MCM “we are sending a Type 1 task force which is 70 personnel from the all the agencies in the region here that make up Task Force 1.”

The urban search and rescue team does not know their specific mission at the moment according to Light, but he says his team “has a lot of different capabilities for many different missions that they assign over there.”

A K9 team with dogs Piper and Phirst already is in Hawaii and “immediately integrated into operations performing targeted searches,” according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Spokesperson Pete Piringer.

“Search conditions are reportedly difficult and challenging,” he posted on social media.

The death toll from the wildfires on the island of Maui is greater than 100 so far and expected to climb.

County Executive Marc Elrich called the team heading to Hawaii, along with its partner agencies in Maryland “among the best in the country.”

He added, “This assignment will be difficult for all the search and rescue teams that have been deployed. I want to thank them for their unwavering commitment to assist others in their time of need. The search and rescue teams will make sure people in need get the help they deserve.”

Elrich commended the team members and first responders who agreed to help on a moment’s notice. “They willingly put themselves in harm’s way and often sacrifice time with their families to lend help to others.”

He said he hoped that the team’s efforts “will help bring closure to the families impacted by this terrible tragedy.”

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