‘Happy to answer the call’
New York’s Finest and Bravest gear up to help Hurricane Ida victims
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Hurricane Ida delivered her
fury to Louisiana on Sunday,
and members of the NYPD and
FDNY quickly got to work, getting
ready to head to the storm
zone and help rescue survivors
in the days and weeks to
come.
A team of 83 speciallytrained
NYPD police offi cers
and FDNY fi refi ghters joined
the response and recovery efforts
for Hurricane Ida in Louisiana
this weekend.
The Federal Emergency
Management Agency activated
Urban Search and Rescue –
New York Task Force 1 to deploy
from the New York City
Emergency Management’s support
center at Flushing Avenue
in Brooklyn to Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, Sunday afternoon.
The team is one of 28 FEMA
can send out within six hours
of activation, and they departed
for Cajun Country at about 6
pm Sunday night, Aug. 29.
Ida ripped through Louisiana
16 years to the day Hurricane
COURIER L 14 IFE, SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2021
Katrina ravaged the
state and the Gulf Coast. The
August 2005 storm left more
than 1,800 people dead, and
much of New Orleans under
water when the levees were
breached — an outcome not repeated
this time around due to
the massive reinforcement system
installed during Katrina’s
aftermath.
Nevertheless, Ida brought
her massive storm surge,
heavy rains and 150 mph winds
to Louisiana this Sunday, submerging
low-lying coastal areas,
destroying homes and
power grids, and putting
countless people in danger.
It’s anticipated that the recovery
effort will take many long
weeks.
Battalion Chief Joe Downey,
who was part of the FDNY’s response
to Hurricane Katrina
in 2005, said he’s confi dent
there would be plenty for the
New York rescue contingent to
do when it arrived in the Pelican
State.
“A lot of our work will probably
be swift water operations
considering the surge,”
Downey said. “A lot of our
guys have been out before and
are looking forward to going
down there to help. I believe
that there’ll be a good amount
of work for our guys to do.”
NYC Emergency Management
Department Commissioner
John Scrivani added
that the Five Boroughs are
ready and willing to answer
the call for Louisiana.
“This is a large undertaking
by FEMA and all of the
support agencies,” he said.
“New York City is again happy
to answer the call beyond the
Five Boroughs as we’ve done
for years.”
Urban Search and Rescue
– New York Task Force 1
includes 42 members of the
NYPD Emergency Services
Unit and 40 FDNY personnel,
including EMS members. Six
search-and-rescue canines
were also brought along for assistance.
The team members traveled
to Louisiana with a convoy including
three tractor trailers,
two box trucks, three pickup
trucks, four swift-water rescue
boats and eight vans. They’ll
have all the equipment they
need to handle rescues of all
kinds, including devices for
confi ned rescues and medical
support supplies.
Some of the members of
New York’s Urban Search and
Rescue team were recently deployed
to Florida to respond to
the deadly Sunrise condo collapse.
Police offi cers Christina Orlando and Jeremy Lucca with canines Lindsay
and DMO prepare for deployment from Brooklyn to Hurricane Ida in Louisiana.
Photo by Kevin Duggan
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