FEMA Rescue Teams Honored by President Obama

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President Barack Obama honored Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel and members of FEMA Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from California, Florida, New York and Virginia today in a Rose Garden ceremony, according to a FEMA news release. All were thanked by the President for participating in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-led effort following the 7.0 earthquake that devastated that nation.

FEMA communications personnel from Incident  Management Assistance Teams (IMAT), a Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS) team, and support from FEMA external affairs were activated by USAID to support the Haiti response, according to FEMA. More than 500 personnel were deployed attached to USAR teams including California Task Force 2 from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Florida Task Force 1 from the Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue Department, Florida Task Force 2 from the City of Miami Fire Department, New York Task Force 1 from the New York City Office of Emergency Management, Virginia Task Force 1 from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, and Virginia Task Force 2 from the Virginia Beach Fire Department.  According to FEMA, the teams were joined by more than 40 international search and rescue teams that were able to rescue at least 135 people.

There are 28 FEMA-trained USAR teams across the country including two teams that are internationally deployable through USAID. Teams are made up of about 72 multi-faceted, cross-trained personnel serving in areas that include search and rescue, medical, hazardous materials, logistics and planning.

More information on FEMA is available at www.fema.gov.

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

  
Author:Barbara Brooks - FDNNTV.com