PA Sends Disaster Workers To FL Condo Collapse Site

HARRISBURG, PA — Seventy members of the Pennsylvania-Task Force 1 have been sent to aid the search and rescue mission at the site of last week's deadly condominium collapse in Surfside, FL.

The task force is one of 28 teams that are part of the federal National Urban Search and Rescue Response System that can be rapidly dispatched to any disaster site in the country. The Philadelphia Fire Department sponsors Pennsylvania's team.

The task force is composed of more than 210 people from numerous participating agencies. It includes personnel staffing management, rescue, medical, search, and technical team positions. The group typically is deployed after a devastating hurricane.

Regarding its Florida mission, Gov. Tom Wolf said, “We can only imagine the pain of those who have lost loved ones or are still waiting to hear about their loved ones.

“The men and women of PA-TF1 know the dangerous work they will face when they arrive onsite, but the ability to bring closure to families and friends of the victims of this collapse is also a tremendous blessing.”

The reinforcements will join crews working 24 hours a day in the rubble of the building, which collapsed more than a week ago. Eighteen people have been confirmed to have been killed, with 145 people still missing.

The bodies of two children, ages 10 and 4, were pulled from the ruins of the building on Wednesday.

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