Colo. Task Force to Assist in Hurricane Florence Relief Efforts

Sept. 13—Five Colorado Springs firefighters headed to Raleigh, N.C., early Wednesday to help people affected by Hurricane Florence.

Colorado's Task Force One, sponsored by West Metro Fire Rescue in Lakewood, was deployed 17 years ago to the collapse of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attack.

Now, 45 members of the task force were expected to arrive on the Atlantic Coast late Wednesday.

The task force operates under the Federal Emergency Management Agency, responding to national disasters, specializing in search and rescue in urban settings.

In addition, more than 30 people from the Colorado and Wyoming Red Cross—12 of them from El Paso County—are headed to North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia to help with relief efforts.

Volunteers and staff members will serve in shelters, providing food and water to those in need.

AMR Colorado Springs, the region's ambulance contractor, also is sending four crew members with an additional nine personnel from other AMR Front Range operations

"We are fortunate to be able to send some of our local assets, including personnel and equipment, to assist the communities in the path of Hurricane Florence," said Ted Van Horne, CEO and president of AMR. "It is important to know that sending these resources does not affect our ability to provide timely medical response for all the communities we serve."

The National Hurricane Center is predicting catastrophic flooding and damaging winds in the region later this week and early next week.