PHOTOS: Chesterfield firefighters gear up for Hurricane Helene

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Two specialized crews with Chesterfield County Fire & EMS have been deployed throughout Virginia and to neighboring states in preparation for Hurricane Helene .

The Chesterfield firefighters are part of several unique, targeted teams that do work across the state, such as the Medflight team .

Early on Thursday, Sept. 26, two such crews were deployed in anticipation of Hurricane Helene’s arrival later that evening.

According to fire officials, the Virginia Task Force 8 Urban Search & Rescue (VA-TF8) is comprised of Chesterfield firefighters from the local Technical Rescue and Scuba Rescue teams. Their skills include executing search and rescue operations in flooded areas, from rivers to urban environments.

Thursday morning, 19 such team members left from Fire Station 17 for Wytheville as a Type I Swift Water Team. This is their second mission in the last two months, as they also worked during Tropical Storm Debby this past August.

The second group of Chesterfield firefighters sent out on Thursday were those on the Virginia Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team (VAHART), which is a collaboration between Chesterfield Fire & EMS and the Virginia National Guard.

According to fire officials, the VAHART crew operates Blackhawk helicopters to execute search and rescue missions in areas with flooding or difficult terrain.

Two helicopters and six Chesterfield firefighters left from the Chesterfield County Airport Thursday afternoon, headed for Roanoke.

In addition to these two teams, the operational medical director of Chesterfield Fire & EMS, Allen Yee, is currently in Florida as part of the Virginia Task Force 2’s medical component.

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