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SALT LAKE CITY — It has been a long two weeks for Utah Task Force 1. The team has been in Houston assisting with rescue efforts after Hurricane Harvey.
The group of 46 were assigned with Houston Fire and EMS for rescue operations throughout the city. It was not only a difficult experience for the team members but also for their families.
"It's been difficult,” Shauna Lawrence said about not seeing her husband. “He's kind of my strength.”
Shauna Lawrence, who also works for Utah Task Force 1 in their West Jordan headquarters, said seeing the pictures come in from Houston did not make the situation easier for her.
“Just to know he was in those conditions was hard for me,” she said. “But he had a job to do.”
On Wednesday night, her husband Steve, along with the nearly two dozen team members, arrived in Utah. They left the state for Texas back on August 24, just ahead of the storm.
The group was made up of different professionals from multiple agencies across the state, specifically trained to work rescue operations in natural disasters.
There were 28 from Unified Fire, 10 from Salt Lake City Fire Dept., two from Park City Fire Dept., one from Layton City Fire Dept., one from Logan City Fire Dept., one from Draper City Fire Dept., one civilian physician, one civilian engineer, and one civilian mechanic.
Doctor Mike Hart said this was his first time being deployed with the task force. He said no one truly knew what to expect from the mission.
“We really have to be ready to see just about everything,” he said.
In all, the task force carried out 340 successful rescues. Hart was even able to help deliver a baby.
“It was kind of unexpected,” he said. “We had to use the tools we had on hand to kind of improvise and, you know, I think things worked out pretty well.”
Upon returning, the team will evaluate all equipment, return everything to a response ready state, reload their own personal gear, and be back available for deployment in 12-24 hours.
The UT-TF1 team is up first in the rotation for availability on a national level for the month of September and have already been put on alert for Hurricane Irma.
