Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SOUTH SALT LAKE -- An elite Utah search and rescue team was put on alert for more than 72 hours after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that pounded coastal Japan last week.
The Utah team was not deployed, but they were ready.
Utah Task Force 1 is among 28 federal teams with the tools and know-how to save people after major disasters. Following many disasters here and abroad, U.S. Urban Search and Rescue crews and their dogs are brought in to help search for survivors.
Bill Brass is the program manager of Utah Task Force 1. At 3:30 a.m. Friday, the team was put on alert.
"They were letting us know that there was a very good chance they were going to send domestic task forces over there," Brass said.
Only 70 member teams from Virginia and California deployed, but Utah Task Force 1 keeps in contact with the leader of the Virginia team, a colleague and a friend. That team is working around the clock.
"You have that stress of eating outside, sleeping outside, cold showers, those types of things," Brass said. "It becomes very stressful after just a few days, let alone 14."
Utah Task Force 1 deployed to Ground Zero following the attacks of 9/11. They also helped after several major hurricanes in the last 10 years, including Hurricane Katrina.
"There's a window when you can rescue people that are trapped and recover them live, and that's what we do," Brass said. "We do live recovery, and that window is fast closing."
Those two U.S. teams have been on the ground operating about 16 hours now. The team leaders here expect to learn from their experiences.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
