MO Task Force 1 deployed to flooding in St. Louis area
Missouri Task Force 1 just left the Columbia area Wednesday morning, heading to St. Louis to help with flooding efforts. The group is one of only 28 FEMA search and rescue forces nationwide and could be deployed for as long as three days.
A total of 22 members just left around 10 a.m. Wednesday. Command leaders went to a forward staging spot with the West County Fire Protection District in Manchester, Mo. The others took equipment to Parkway South High School, which is also in Manchester, Mo.
They will get mission assignments at the scene, which could include water rescues and evacuations. The peak of the flooding damage is expected later Wednesday through Thursday.
The team is a division of the Boone County Fire Protection District, and unlike a federal operation, members are not paid for a state disaster. Everyone is volunteering their time.
Some of the equipment they are bringing includes two inflatable boats, four flat bottom boats, dry suits, life jackets, ropes, communications equipment, support equipment, three flatbed trailers, one van and other support vehicles.
