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When the New York City rescue team returned home after a week in Haiti, they were exhausted but proud to have saved lives. One eight-year-old boy thanked his rescuers with a hug. "It's good to be back. It was a great experience and an extraordinary mission," said FDNY task force leader Battalion Chief Joe Downey, whose father, legendary Fire Chief Ray Downey, died during 9/11. At six o'clock in the evening on January 12, a massive earthquake with a magnitude 7.0 devastated thesmall Caribbean country of Haiti.
The earthquake caused major damage to Haiti's port and airport and many notable landmark buildings were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. The headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission was also destroyed.
The Red Cross, the United Nations, law enforcement and fire personnel and troops from countries around the world were sent to the island to help with the search and rescue mission. The UN added 2,000 troops to the 7,000 military peacekeepers already in the country and 1,500 more police to the 2,100-strong international police force. About 2,000 Canadian soldiers, sailors and air crew, including two warships, were deployed to the towns of Jacmel and Leogane.
Along with sending military resources, the United States dispatched six of their top Urban Search and Rescue teams to help with the biggest natural disaster in Haiti's history. Virginia Task Force 1 The Virginia Task Force 1, which is part of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, was activated by the United States Agency for International Development. The 72 members of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team were one of the first groups to land in the devastated region. They were able to save a United Nations worker who was buried alive in the rubble as well as four more people who were trapped in a collapsed motel. The Virginia Force is composed of 72 personnel, including six search and rescue canines, search and technical rescue personnel, physicians, paramedics, structural engineers, and other support personnel. They brought 48 tons of rescue equipment and supplies with them to Haiti and were prepared to be self-sustaining for 14 days. The Virginia group also responded to the Oklahoma City bombing, the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and Hurricanes Katrina and Isabel. Additionally, they have deployed internationally to the embassy bombings in Kenya, as well as earthquakes in Turkey, Taiwan, and Iran. California Task Force 2 Team members of another specially-trained and equipped Urban Search and Rescue Task Force was flown in from Los Angeles County. Team members included firefighters and paramedics, rescue specialists, emergency room physicians, structural engineers, heavy equipment specialists, canine search dogs and handlers, hazardous materials technicians, communications specialists, and logistics specialists. The team responded with 55,000 pounds of prepackaged search and rescue tools and medical equipment. A former photographer for the LA County Fire Departscene when the group responded to the 6.7 Northridge earthquake in 1994 said, "All I can say is these guys are fearless bad-asses - the best of the best heading into the worst of the worst."
South Florida Task Force Teams 1 and 2 The two 72-member teams traveled to Haiti with 12 dogs trained for search and rescue missions. They were able to pull many survivors from collapsed buildings in Port-au-Prince, including a Pembroke Pines woman, who spent five days trapped in debris. "These teams serve as a great example of resiliency in the wake of disaster," said Task Force Interim Director David Halstead. "Their no quit attitudes and desire to save others while putting their lives on the line are attributes that should make all Floridians proud." The team is composed of 281 law enforcement officers and firefighters from 28 different fire and police agencies from Dade and Broward counties who are ready to respond to natural and or man-made disasters anywhere in the U.S.
NYC Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1 The 74-member of Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue, a joint NYPD-FDNY squad, also responded to the devastation in Haiti. The group, considered one of the most highly trained search and rescue teams in the world, brought three tractor-trailers full of 20 tons of equipment, including sound gear to listen for survivors trapped below wreckage, cutting tools that can smash through concrete and shore up rubble as they dig, rescue dogs and a doctor.
The New York City rescue team combed 50 square miles of devastated terrain during the week they were there. Task Force members agreed their time in Haiti was humbling. "Each area seemed like it was poorer than the next area," said Joe Downey, the Task Force leader for the FDNY.
"The people down there had very little to start with and now they have nothing." According to Rich Miller, a detective with the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit who spent months combing the wreckage at Ground Zero, his team's first day in Haiti was spent at a school where they found no survivors. They kept at it but after finding 16 lifeless bodies, their hopes were low.
"But then a Haitian police officer rushed in to tell us there might be survivors trapped in a grocery store about a half mile away," Miller said. "For five hours we took turns digging." In a race against time, Rich and his team finally reached their victims.
They were able to pull a seven-year-old boy and his eight-year-old sister from under the concrete rubble of a three-story building that collapsed. In the news footage that was broadcast around the world, Rich is captured on film holding the boy and encouraging him to look at a camera before he handed him to a close friend of the family who was acting as an interpreter.
"It was a total miracle," he said. "I pointed at the camera and tried to get him to look in that direction because I wanted him to see the world again and I wanted the world to see him." "It was difficult, but the training and experience that we've got within the NYPD and the FDNY helped us down there," noted NYPD task force leader Deputy Inspector Robert Lukach.
He added that the scorching sun was among the biggest challenges. "It was probably about 100 degrees during the day. At high noon, it was sweltering." The team lived in tents during their stay, but Downey said the digs were luxurious compared to the desperation they witnessed.
A captain from California who heard the stories about the New York City team's experiences said the following: "These guys risk so much. In the midst of all the ongoing despair and not having the opportunity to do any rescues on 9/11, they must have experienced a sense of exhilaration and redemption after saving lives in Haiti.
"It reminds us that so often while cops are in the midst of ugliness and despair, there are moments of beauty." Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites        
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