VIDEO: Local Rescuers Return to the Golden Triangle

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Hurricane Irma has passed, and first responders are making their way back home.

Columbus and Starkville are two of the many local fire departments who sent teams to Florida as part of Mississippi’s Task Force 2.

Task Force 2 got back yesterday around midnight.

It takes a lot of training to be in these task forces, but when something like Hurricane Irma comes up the team is ready to move.

The devastation left by Hurricane Irma strained resources in Florida, leaving them to ask neighboring states for assistance.

For the Mississippi Tasks Forces, it was a new experience.

“It actually was the first time the Mississippi Task Force has acted outside of its borders of Mississippi in force. We had three members from Columbus fire and rescue that linked up with other departments in the region,” said Columbus FD Assistant Chief, Duane Hughes.

The team was originally sent to Marianna Florida before the storm hit.

“But after the storm passed over, we had to wait for them to dispatch us wherever the need arises for us to be at. They decided to send us to Jacksonville. When we got to jacksonville, they were already convered and had it taken care of, so then they dispatched us to Clay County which was probably about 30 minutes due south,” said Starkville FD Battalion Chief, Stewart Bird.

“There were about… approximately 18 swift water rescues that were performed and numerous requests from property owners to go and rescue pets,” said Hughes.

These teams are selected based on what the situation calls for.

“The task force leaders were asked for a 35 man team, and the task force leaders, they just take from their list and they choose who might have certain classes. Whoever had swift water rescue and structural collapse are the ones that they dispatched to this location,” said Bird.

Those are just a few of the classes first responders need to take to be a part of the elite group..

“The task force covers a myriad of different disciplines, from confined space rescue, swift water, structural collapse, hazmat,” said Hughes.

The training is extensive, but rescuers will always be ready to respond to situations at a moments notice.

While this was the task force’s first trip out of state, it doesn’t look like it will be the last.

“That’s what we train for. I mean, we want to be able to help wherever the need be. We hate to see people in a time of crisis, but we like them to know that we’re there to help them whatever they need help with. It means a lot to go out of state,” said Bird.

Battalion Chief, Stewart Bird also tells us the people of Florida were grateful for the task force’s participation in rescue efforts.