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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCourting DisasterpLIblicservice I by Kelli Levey Texas Task Force 1 is ready when we need them T xas Task Force 1 is the rock star of the escue world, the cream of the crop in mergency crews that respond to the country's largest disasters. The members share memories of events named Bonfire, Katrina, Rita and the World Trade Center. When they returned from New York City, they were greeted at an Austin airport by dozens of family members and friendly supporters. Members also assisted in recovery after the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas in 2003 and most recently responded to Dean, aka the hurricane that wasn't. The Texas -based task force is one of FEMNs 28 National Urban Search and Rescue teams. It functions through the Texas Governor's Division of Emergency Management and is sponsored by the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). Home base is a coordination center in College Station, and when the team is deployed the 300 -plus members move in from 60 organizations from across Texas — at least anywhere within a five -hour drive. "When we get a call it's six hours until `wheels up,' so we don't have anyone from the Panhandle or far West Texas because they just couldn't get here in time," says G. Kemble Bennett, the brains and heart behind the program. "This is not a club; it's the best of the best," Bennett says. "The members have to search and rescue, and they attend training twice a year to hone skills they don't use on a daily basis. "Right now they could tone out and activate 200 people within a few hours," says Paul Gunnels, a captain with the College Station Fire Department who serves on the task force's water rescue team. As Gunnels is gathering his gear for his next Texas Task Force 1 deployment, he typically doesn't have time to attend to the daily routines of home. Just before he left for a return trip to New Orleans to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — a mission called "Katrina 2" — he felt compelled to get the air conditioner in his house repaired so he could rest easy that his wife and three children would be comfortable. "People came out of the woodwork to help with that one, and after a few calls we had it fixed," Gunnels says. "There was a lot of kindness shown by a lot of people that day. It took a load off my mind, knowing they were going to be okay while I was gone. I just couldn't leave with that undone." Gunnels recalls a turning point in his career: the 16 -hour stint that he and 14 other rescuers spent on the site of the Texas A&M Bonfire collapse. "I was just feet from (survivor) John Comstock and all around us were all the support people, like the football players carrying the logs away and the other people making sure we got food and water and any supplies we needed," he says. "At I thought Bonfire [collapse] would be the biggest deployment of my career. Little did I know I would go to the World Trade Center where 3,000 families lost loved ones. Paul Gunnels, TX -TF1 prove themselves twice a year with their skills set training, and they work so closely together they all know each other and each other's capabilities." Another Day at the Office The task force is unique in that it goes from no employees to hundreds within a six - hour span, depending on the nature of the incident. Seventy- member teams respond to hazardous materials, weapons of mass destruction or floods in urban areas. The members are cross - trained in the art of that time I thought Bonfire would be the biggest deployment of my career. Little did I know I would go to the World Trade Center where 3,000 families lost loved ones. "Each experience builds on the one before. That's the only way you're going to get through them." During 27 days of deployments in a five -week span, Texas Task Force 1 helped 14,000 victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita — the largest deployment in the task force's history. During "Katrina 1," Gunnels was on a team of seven rescuers saving people December 2007 /insite IS publicservice "I am committed to doing all that I can do to make the process of buying or selling a home a positive experience for my clients. Trish Thornton Havel dedicated 22 years to educating children in our community. She now puts that same enthusiasm and desire to help others into her real estate career at Classic Realty Inc. GMAC Real Estate. "Classic Realty has given me a distinct advantage in applying my service commitment to my clients. The training, the staff and the owner - support are great. They care about their clients, and the professional agents they work with." Trish Havel, Realtor A Diamond Premier Service Award recipient Email: tthaveI@suddenlink.net Classic Realty im GMAC RealEstate 3600 Hwy. 6 South #100 College Station, Texas 77845 (979) 694 -8844 T a r =� aus�+ from their flooded homes. A few days later, during "Katrina 2," the team was doing what he calls "the unthinkable" — recording the locations of bodies they found and identifying those they were able to. Next came Hurricane Rita, with its floodwaters that spread throughout Southeast Texas. As Gunnels clicks through an array of photographs on his computer, he comments wistfully, "each picture has a story, a memory of its own." Unfortunately, many of the individuals' stories are lost as the rescues whiz by in a blur. "Our job is to get the people to safety and get into the system so they can get food and shelter and get in touch with someone they care about, then we move on to the next person in need," he says. "It's a fast pace out there. You don't have a lot of time to share life stories." Relative newcomer Chris Poole, a College Station firefighter and rescue specialist with You've always got to be on your' game' when you go out on a call ... You wouldn't want your grandmother standing there in danger, with no one to help her, so you can't leave anyone else in that situation. Texas Task Force 1, says his experiences as a firefighter helped gear him up for joining the task force three years ago. "It's just like being on a regular call, kind of like being in the military," Poole says. "You do your job, and no job is too small or unimportant — whether it's cooking dinner or cleaning up or pitching tents or setting up these fold -out cots that are kind of like a jigsaw puzzle. Everyone just pitches in wherever they're needed. It is truly a team approach." Billy Parker, an original member of Texas Task Force 1 and now its task force leader for the water rescue team and a program director for TEEX's Urban Search and Rescue division, is more involved in the command of the team than the day -to -day field operations. Still, he says, any job on the team requires the right attitude and constitution. "You just have to have the right mentality for this type of work. You have to be geared up for it," Parker says. "You have to have the heart and the right mental attitude. You train for it, sure, but you've got to have the right stuff to start with." Parker says coping comes from taking care of oneself. "Good health is always key — eating right, getting enough rest. And talking about it with your peers or someone who understands can always help." But Parker says few of the "macho firefighters" would admit to doing so, even at the World Trade Center, where Rev. Bill Armstrong of College Station came along to serve as chaplain. "Even if they didn't take advantage of that, it was great to have him along," Parker says. "He was a calming presence." Support systems also help on the home front, where spouses check on one another and the team members send several a -mails a day to the spouses to update them on the team members' progress. "You're so busy and really, when you get spare time you try to call but sometimes it's all you can do to make it to your cot before you collapse with exhaustion," Gunnels says. "You try to call, but you have cases like New Orleans, when the phone system was out. Bottom line, your family really just wants to know you're okay. We have systems in place to let them know that, to tell them when we're sleeping and eating and so forth. They feel really connected, even while we're away, and if they need any little thing they're taken care of by the folks back home." TX -TF1 Experiences Explosive Growth Ten years ago, Bennett pushed for the team's creation when he realized Texas couldn't respond to a disaster of the magnitude of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The Texas Legislature approved the team concept in 1997 and its first deployment was to Del Rio in 1998 to aid those flooded by Tropical Storm Charley. The following year the team was called to help recovery efforts at the Bonfire collapse, then in 2000 came a series of natural disasters — starting with a tornado in Fort Worth and continuing with a series of hurricanes. As vice chancellor and dean of the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University and former director of the Texas Engineering Extension Service, Bennett remains the liaison between the task force and the state and federal departments that oversee it. He is alerted every time the team may be deployed, and once they are in the field he gets continual briefings. He then makes reports to the chancellor of the Texas A &M System, the team's umbrella organization. The Texas Engineering Extension Service is the team's sponsor. Bennett says he can't believe 10 years already have gone by, but says he feels proud of the team's accomplishments. From the Bonfire collapse at Texas A&M University to the World Trade Center calamity called 9/11, to numerous natural disasters — including hurricanes Ivan, Katrina and Rita (and the near -miss called Dean) — the team has proven its worth many times over. "It is doing what I thought it would by now in terms of mission and scope, and when they became a federal team I knew it would be one of the top federal teams in the country," he says, adding that the team's expansion into natural disaster response and enhanced training have surpassed his expectations. "It is just a very, very professional and capable group of people." Throughout what Bennett calls "some really horrendous search and rescue deployments," the team members have always maintained their professionalism and December 2007 /insite 17 had great leadership and membership, he says. "As time goes on the preparedness and training of the team is definitely better and better," he says. "You see a little more snap or something. There is definitely something special there." The initial $1.7 million equipment cache Family Reunion A 10 -year anniversary celebration in late October that included a tour and demonstrations at the task force's training ground, Disaster City, was part family reunion, part review of lessons learned. A slide show and stories highlighting the task force's history were key points of the dinner and awards ceremony. "Dr. Bennett was his usual self- entertaining but informative and inspiring, all at once," Parker says. "Sometimes it's hard to believe we've been together 10 years, but sometimes it feels like a lifetime. It's kind of awe - inspiring, to think of the lives we've touched. We've helped a lot of people but more importantly, we've benefited from the experience ourselves." Gunnels puts it another way: "A simple task is just as rewarding as the bigger events. You've always got to be on your 'A game' when you go out on a call, and you're always looking for a way to help another person get out of whatever situation they're in. You wouldn't want your grandmother standing there in danger, with no one to help her, so you can't leave anyone else in that situation. It's just the right thing to do." i O hange is at fingertips this holiday season Western, Traditional, Modern, Contemporary, Arts and Crafts... Whatever your style, we have the hardware you are looking for, with prices to fit any budget! Many new styles and finishes available! Largest selection of decorative cabinet, door, and bath hardware in the Brazos Valley as well as cabinet maker's supplies. Come by our showroom Mon -Fri 8am -5pm And let us see what we can do for you! ALCO SALES "The Original" 3001 E. Villa Maria • Bryan • 979 - 823 -8440 www.alcocabinethardware.com has now grown to $5 million, with more than 12,000 items that weigh in at more than 50,000 pounds. The inventory increase is partly attributable to the addition of a water rescue component, which added numerous boats and related gear. "We've deployed so many times we've got it down to a science," Bennett says. "The team members can tell you where a saw blade is in one box among a million. It's all computerized and it meets airline requirements. We send some of our guys to airline boarding school so we don't lose any valuable time having to remove or re- pack something." Interim TEEX director and long -time TEEX employee Gary Sera says he is impressed with what he has seen the team accomplish. "Texas Task Force 1 started out as a collection of brave emergency responders who used whatever they could to respond to disasters," Sera explains. "Today, this team has evolved into a statewide system of trained professionals who use sophisticated techniques and tools to make sure they are ready when needed. I am proud to say that this task force is among the finest in the world." publicservice 18 Insite /December 2007