Fairfax County rescue team working in Puerto Rico and St. Croix following Hurricane Maria

Members of VA-TF1 at the San Juan command post [FCFRD].

It’s been a busy month for the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department’s Urban Search and Rescue Team (VA-TF1).

After weathering Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 19 team members were airlifted to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands to perform search and rescue operations, reports Assistant Chief Chuck Ryan. Several team members are doing reconnaissance and damage assessment along the eastern coast of Puerto Rico.

Crews use a “hot stick” to assess electrical lines in Puerto Rico [VA-TF1]

Earlier this month, VA-TF1 was in St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands performing rescue missions following Hurricane Irma, and before that the team was in the Houston area helping out after Hurricane Harvey.

Crews meet with local officials in Puerto Rico to coordinate search and rescue operations. [VA-TF1]

VA-TF1 was established in 1986 as a domestic and international disaster response resource focusing on the rescue of victims from collapsed structures.

The team is comprised of approximately 200 emergency managers and planners, physicians, and paramedics and includes specialists in structural engineering, heavy rigging, collapse rescue, logistics, hazardous materials, communications, and canine and technical search. Team members are often deployed without warning and are prepared to depart within less than three hours.

Citizens assist with intel during search and rescue operations on St. Croix. [VA-TF1]

VA-TF1  is sponsored by the fire department and has partnerships with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance.