Fort Myers, FLORIDA — After assisting Florida citizens and officials during the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, the Ohio Task Force 1 (OH-TF1) is in route to its home base in Vandalia, Ohio. The task force was officially demobilized on Oct. 9 at 6:00 a.m.
The Ohio Task Force 1 is an elite search and rescue team for the state of Ohio and the entire nation. The task force comprises firefighters, private citizens and local businesses. Team members spent two weeks serving in preparation and in response to Hurricane Ian.
The 84-member urban search and rescue team, as well as seven dogs, are returning home in a convoy of 15 trucks, buses and boats. They began outside of Atlanta, Georgia this morning (Oct. 10) and plan to arrive in Vandalia by 5 p.m. this evening.
During those missions, OH-TF1 rescued a handful of people from dangerous situations.
They evacuated dozens of people and pets who did not have the means to leave on their own, checked on people who were sheltering in place, assisted local officials in searching for missing persons, conducted over 4,500 house-by-house searches to insure structures were cleared and recorded data on structure damage and hazards for local authorities.
