Eighty members of Sacramento-area fire departments are on their way to the mudslide in Oso, Washington. They are members of a Federal Emergency Management Agency task force and will help with search and rescue efforts.
Marc Bentovoja is with Sac Metro Fire and is the leader of the task force. He says the firefighters have been trained to work in mudslide, trench, and confined-space rescue situations.
"We're up there with about 30 or 35 rescuers to go ahead and take over where the local is now becoming -their systems are quite fatigued at this point," he says.
The task force also includes emergency room doctors, search dogs, and heavy equipment operators.
Some members of the group were previously sent to help after Hurricane Sandy and the World Trade Center bombings.
This task force is geographically closest to the disaster area.
The group expects to be in Washington state for as long as two weeks.
Follow us for more stories like this
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
Donate Today
