A Federal Emergency Management Agency task force sent from Massachusetts to Florida after Hurricane Ian is back home two weeks after the Category 4 storm made landfall.Massachusetts Task Force 1 received activation orders on Sept. 30, two days after Ian hit Florida, to deploy a team of 46 people and three K9s.The task force conducted a number of search and rescue operations at Fort Myers Beach on ground, by boat and with their K9s.On Oct. 9, Massachusetts Task Force 1 received its demobilization orders and began its drive back home that day. The team arrived at its base in Beverly on Wednesday.”The area was fairly well-devastated. Many homes off their foundations and torn to piles of sticks, and all of that material,” said Anita Arnum, assistant program manager for Massachusetts Task Force 1. “So we had houses on top of houses on top of houses that had to be searched to identify whether or not there were any survivors.”Among the task force’s accomplishments in Florida was the fact members were able to find six missing clergy members alive and well.Massachusetts Task Force 1 is a Beverly-based team of police officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and civilians who respond to major disasters under a contract with FEMA. Currently, there is a total of 150 people on the MA-TF 1 team.
A Federal Emergency Management Agency task force sent from Massachusetts to Florida after Hurricane Ian is back home two weeks after the Category 4 storm made landfall.
Massachusetts Task Force 1 received activation orders on Sept. 30, two days after Ian hit Florida, to deploy a team of 46 people and three K9s.
The task force conducted a number of search and rescue operations at Fort Myers Beach on ground, by boat and with their K9s.
On Oct. 9, Massachusetts Task Force 1 received its demobilization orders and began its drive back home that day. The team arrived at its base in Beverly on Wednesday.
“The area was fairly well-devastated. Many homes off their foundations and torn to piles of sticks, and all of that material,” said Anita Arnum, assistant program manager for Massachusetts Task Force 1. “So we had houses on top of houses on top of houses that had to be searched to identify whether or not there were any survivors.”
Among the task force’s accomplishments in Florida was the fact members were able to find six missing clergy members alive and well.
Massachusetts Task Force 1 is a Beverly-based team of police officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and civilians who respond to major disasters under a contract with FEMA. Currently, there is a total of 150 people on the MA-TF 1 team.
