Search and rescue task force leaves for Texas
SPRING GARDEN (WPVI) -- Members of the "Pennsylvania Task Force One" left for Texas early Sunday morning.
The 45-member team left around 3 a.m., with 20 members from the Philadelphia fire department, and others from around the state.
When they arrive to their destination, their main task is search and rescue.
Action News was there as police escorted 11 major trucks out of the city.
The 22 hour journey will take the 45-member team to the Naval Air Station Forth Worth Joint Reserve Base.
From there, they will be dispatched to help the thousands of Texas residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
"They'll work around the clock, 24-7," said Deputy Fire Commissioner Loesch.
He says their efforts will center on search and rescue.
"We'll be out pulling people off the roof of their houses. They're very apt into getting into heavy concreted collapsed buildings or those underwater, and they'll go out and search. Our hearts go out there to everyone dealing with this. We're hoping for the best for everybody," Loesch said.
Right now there are eleven other search and rescue teams down there.
If conditions in Texas continue to exacerbate, we're told they're prepared to send another forty members down there.
The team that was just dispatched will be gone for at least two weeks.
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