Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency announced that two members of PA Task Force 1 will deploy today to Maui, Hawaii, as part of a 28 member Federal Emergency Management Agency Urban Search and Rescue Incident Support Team.
“Pennsylvania is exceptionally proud to have these two Task Force members deploying to play a part in assisting with coordinated recovery efforts in Hawaii,” Director Randy Padfield said. “I want to wish these responders a safe deployment and a speedy return to their loved ones in Pennsylvania, and we extend our gratitude to the families and employers supporting them throughout their deployments. We are keeping the families of those who lost loved ones and everyone affected in our thoughts and prayers during this devastating time."
The team will coordinate other federal search and rescue teams that are also being deployed to support search and rescue efforts being conducted by local responders.
Hawaii has suffered extensive damage to infrastructure from catastrophic wildfires over the past several days, leaving dozens dead and hundreds missing.
Deployed staff are expected to begin working with their counterparts in Hawaii as early as Sunday, August 13, and their deployment is preliminarily anticipated to last approximately two weeks based out of Maui.
PA Task Force 1 is one of more than two dozen federal Urban Search and Rescue teams across the country that are part of FEMA's search and rescue system.