Lambertville Emergency Workers Aid Florida Search & Rescue

LAMBERTVILLE, NJ — Three Lambertville firefighters, and two members of the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance Rescue Squad, are among the 80 members of New Jersey Task Force 1 who deployed to Florida Thursday morning.

Firefighters Tom Hoffman, Ray Bock, and Gary Breuer of Lambertville will work on rescue and recovery efforts following the collapse of Champlain Towers, a Surfside condominium. From the rescue squad, Pat Pittore and his K-9 dog Copper, and Alice Holmes and her K-9 dogs Watson and Finn, will join the effort.

NJ-TF1 is New Jersey's Urban Search and Rescue team, one of 28 FEMA USAR teams that can be deployed as needed to disaster areas. Breuer serves as the Task Force Leader, Hoffman is a Rescue Squad Officer, and Bock is a Rescue Specialist.

The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management expects the team to reach Surfside Friday afternoon, where they will join the rescue operation that has been underway round-the-clock for a week. The team could be deployed up to 21 days.

The work of rescue crews on the site halted overnight into Thursday due to structural and safety concerns, but did resume. As of Friday afternoon, 128 people are missing and 20 are confirmed dead.

Governor Ron DeSantis said that contingency plans are being made to continue search and rescue efforts and other work related to the building's collapse, should Tropical Storm Elsa impact the area.

The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management will provide updates on the rescue efforts and its crews on Facebook.

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