PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — First responders from all over Southeastern Pennsylvania have been deployed to help search and rescue teams digging through mountains of rubble in Surfside, Florida, where part of a condominium building collapsed a week ago. Officials have confirmed 18 people dead, 11 injured and at least 145 still missing.
Dozens of emergency responders loaded up a convoy of trucks and buses with bags and equipment in Wednesday's sweltering heat at Pennsylvania Task Force 1 headquarters in Northeast Philadelphia. They are one of several teams from all over the country that are mobilizing.
"This is one of the most highly skilled teams in the nation as part of that program," Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said.
He says Philadelphia firefighters make up about half of the urban search-and-rescue team, which is overseen by FEMA. The other half includes medics and other personnel from around the state, even canines.
Thiel says it will be a difficult assignment and that the team is up to the task.
"You've heard about the environmental conditions, the heat and humidity. You've heard about the fire underneath that collapsed building. It's an incredibly dangerous activity," Thiel said.
"We have search cameras of various types. We have listening devices. If you think of it — like sonar — we have everything that you need to support this team. They are entirely self contained: tents, computers, telecommunications equipment. We have all manner of breaking and breaching devices, heavy hydraulic equipment, you know, everything from a sledge hammer to a jackhammer, really anything that they might need to work at this incident in any capacity, they're ready to take it."
First Deputy Commissioner Craig Murphy says the task force is well-trained for the job.
"It will be a grueling process, as you can see over these last seven days what the outcome has been so far. And that's because you have 13 to 12 stories of building collapse. So in order for us to be able to put rescuers in, and those rescuers not becoming victims themselves, we have to make sure that the building is sound, the building is stable enough for us to do our business."
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Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement, that the team understands "the dangerous work they will face when they arrive onsite, but the ability to bring closure to families and friends of the victims of this collapse is also a tremendous blessing."
Thiel says he is still hopeful that they will find people in the collapse.
"Either way, we don't leave people in there. So, we will do whatever is necessary to break the system, to help bring this incident to a conclusion." he said.
He says he expects the team to be deployed for at least two weeks.