Texas Task Force 1 not going to Haiti; Fowler still ready to help

January 18, 2010 8:45 AM

Scott Lawrence

A Beaumont firefighter can stand down, now that FEMA has decided his elite task force won't be traveling to Haiti to help earthquake victims.

But Josh Fowler told KFDM News he's ready to go at a moment's notice.

Fowler is among 450 personnel on Texas Task Force 1 and one of 80 members of the group's Urban Search and Rescue Team.

Last week they were told to prepare to travel to Haiti with 50 tons of rescue equipment. The group waited near Ellington Field from Thursday until Monday before receiving official word of the demobilization.

Recently they were told the number of search and rescue teams in Haiti is sufficient.

Fowler says the task force has an international reputation and is always prepared to help in a disaster.

"The job I do with the Beaumont Fire Department and the task force, you always want to go and help out and serve in some capacity," Fowler told KFDM during an interview after he'd returned Monday afternoon. "It's unfortunate we didn't get to go but that's okay. Whenever we are asked to go and stand down-that's a good thing. It either means the resources they need are in place or will be in place. They're being inundated with help."

Fowler said Texas Task Force 1 has an international reputation.

"Now the international community knows that Texas is ready because not one of us really saw this coming," said Fowler. "We knew there was an earthquake and a chance, but I figured there was plenty of help. Then we got a call at 1 a.m. Thursday to go. Texas Task Force 1 was ready to go in four hours. We had 50 tons of rescue equipment, supplies and personnel ready to rock and roll. The national and international communities have now seen our capabilities."

Fowler returned to Beaumont Monday afternoon and had a little time to unpack before beginning a full shift with the Beaumont Fire Department.

COLLEGE STATION – From Texas Engineering Extension Service - Texas Task Force 1 (TX-TF1) and all other US teams currently on standby have been demobilized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and will not deploy to Haiti.

The United Nations mission in Haiti has declared that the search and rescue teams in the country are sufficient. The task force had been on standby in Houston since the morning of January 14^th.

The TX-TF1 team which was activated for this deployment was a Type I Urban Search and Rescue Team which is comprised of 80 personnel, 4 search and rescue canines, search and technical rescue personnel, physicians, paramedics, structural engineers, other support personnel, and approximately 50 tons of rescue equipment and supplies. The team is self-sustaining for 14 days and deployable by aircraft to anywhere within 4 hours of activation. The task force has also deployed nationally over 70 times, to include the Shuttle Columbia disaster, the World Trade Center, Hurricanes Katrina and Ike.

Since 1998, TX-TF1 has used their unique facilities at Disaster City® as its primary training and testing area for large scale incidents. Located in College Station, Texas, this 52-acre mock city, includes numerous full-scale collapsed buildings and has trained search and rescue teams from across the United States, Europe, Asia and South America.

About Texas Task Force 1
Texas Task Force 1 is sponsored by the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) and is comprised of more than 450 personnel representing more than 60 jurisdictions and agencies from across the state of Texas, and is one of 28 teams in the FEMA national urban search and rescue system. Texas Task Force 1 and TEEX coordinate statewide requests for search and rescue.

About the Texas Engineering Extension Service TEEX, a member of The Texas A&M University System, offers hands-on, customized, first-responder training, homeland security exercises, technical assistance and technology transfer services impacting Texas and beyond. TEEX programs include fire services, homeland security, law enforcement, public works, safety and health, search and rescue, and economic development.

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