OH USAR Team Helps TX Firefighters Rescue Apparatus

Aug. 27, 2017
OH-TF 1 helped Tivoli firefighters recover a pumper after their station collapsed during Hurricane Harvey.

A team of Ohio firefighters helped Texas firefighters recover a pumper from a partially collapsed fire station in Tivolia.

Tivoli, which is located just a few miles northeast of the area where Hurricane Harvey made landfall Friday, suffered extensive damage from the Category 4 hurricane.

Ohio Task Force 1 (OH-TF 1), which is comprised of Dayton-area firefighters, was assigned to assess damage in Awstwell and Tivoli early Sunday.

The hurricane collapsed much of the Tivoli Fire Department's station, trapping a pumper in the debris.

Members of OH-TF 1 helped Tivoli members clear debris from the apparatus so they could place the pumper back in service to help residents.

On the OH-TF 1 Facebook page, photos of the rescue were accompanied by the following message: "So...what is so cool about the work our teams gets to do? These photos are of the team helping the Tivloi Fire Department get their fire apparatus out of the collapsed fire station. Yes, they have helped brother and sister firefighters get their loved engine out of the building, but much more important. They have helped this little community get their emergency services back online, and back helping the community. A small effort, with huge rewards!!!"

The task force also deployed their K9 to help find an elderly man who was reported missing. 

He was later found to be safe.

The team was redeployed to Katy, near Houston, to help with massive flooding conditions. 

"The situation is changing minute-by-minute in Texas as flooding continues to mount and the historic storm dumps more and more rain," Task Force Leader Casye said in a statement on their Facebook page.

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