The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue team is getting ready to travel to the area to help those in need after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 3,400 people in Turkey and Syria.
President of the United States, Joe Biden, contacted Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey on Monday to offer his condolences.
The team is traveling to Turkey to help with the earthquake relief operations there, as you can see in a tweet:
#LACoFD USA-2 has been activated by @usaid and is deploying to the Turkey earthquake. The deployment team will consist of 81 personnel, 6 K9 teams, and 3 structural engineers. A press conference is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at 12605 Osborne St. Pacoima CA 91331. pic.twitter.com/mAGRiz8n57
— L.A. County Fire Department (@LACoFDPIO) February 6, 2023
The deployment crew will consist of 81 persons, including three structural engineers and 6 K9 units. There will be a news conference tonight at 5 o’clock at 12605 Osborne St., Pacoima, CA 91331.
Biden emphasized “the readiness of the United States to provide any essential assistance,” according to a statement from the White House, to its NATO ally Turkey.
According to John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, the Biden administration is deploying two 79-person urban search and rescue teams to bolster Turkey’s efforts.
According to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre,
“The president authorized an immediate U.S. response in addition to the U.S. personnel currently on the ground,” “We are in the process of deploying additional teams to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and address the needs of those injured and displaced by the earthquakes.”
Two national search and rescue organizations can be dispatched abroad: Fairfax, Virginia, and L.A. County.
The L.A. County staff has a wealth of expertise in helping with recovery operations domestically and abroad. The crew was dispatched to Mexico City in 2017 to assist with the earthquake rescue operations.
The group will work for USAID, the United States Agency for International Development. The organization sends out the only two search and rescue crews in the country.
The DART, or Disaster Assistance Response Team, will include L.A. County Fire. When they arrive, they will survey the damage and determine what needs to be done in collaboration with Turkish government authorities.
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The 78-person rescue squad comprises structural engineers, search dogs, paramedics, firefighters, and rescue specialists. The six search canines are skilled at distinguishing between the dead and the living when searching beneath debris.
They have enough provisions to last two weeks, but the American embassy will provide additional supplies if they do.
Following the fatal earthquakes that struck Turkey on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has proclaimed seven days of national mourning. Turkish flags will be flown at half-staff throughout the country and its diplomatic outposts.
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