Missouri Task Force 1 sends additional team for hurricane relief

ST. LOUIS — Missouri Task Force 1, one of only 28 urban search and rescue teams in the country, deployed a second team to assist with hurricane relief efforts Friday.

Several task force members are from the St. Louis area.  Missouri Task Force 1 is based out of the Boone County Fire Protection District in mid-Missouri.  Members deployed include those with expertise in swift water rescues.

“Boone County has done a great job in the state of Missouri to collaborate with partners from across the state to get great people that are able to deploy,” said Assistant Chief Scott Barthelmass, Eureka Fire Protection District.

He said one task force team is already in Georgia.  The additional team headed to North Carolina.

“This was a very powerful, a major hurricane that came in with high winds, flooding, and there’s a lot of people that are in peril right now,” Barthelmass said.

He deployed in 2022 to help with disaster relief efforts following Hurricane Ian.

Barthelmass said some of the challenges include being in areas you are unfamiliar with.  There are also unexpected challenges, including the images from Hurricane Helene’s aftermath.

“I saw an image of a house that was burning in Florida in the floodwaters,” Barthelmass said.

He said members make a 14-day commitment for deployments but added sometimes missions end sooner or last longer.

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