Jun. 26—Some of the heroes of the Surfside condo collapse aren't human.
They're K-9s, working dogs in law enforcement. After Thursday's tragedy, the dogs are doing important jobs: They find people. Alive or dead.
The animals are divided into two groups. "Life-find" K-9s work in a rescue, looking for survivors. And human-remains or cadaver K-9s work in a recovery. They're known as HRDs and look for bodies.
Footage from the site of the destruction shows various breeds on the scene, including greyhounds, Labrador retrievers and German shepherds, bounding about the rubble, following the scent.
The dog handlers are members of Task Force 1 and 2 of South Florida's Urban Rescue Team, assisting Miami-Dade Fire Rescue in the operation. No matter the breed, the dogs have one thing in common: They're highly trained to handle disasters like this one.
Cheryl Hazelton, a former K-9 deputy with Florida's Pasco County Sheriff's Office, told The Tampa Bay Times the specialized canines' job skills include endurance, focus and ability to listen to commands.
Their salary? Toys, treats or verbal praise.
Dogs are often the first ones to lead the way in a disaster such as a hurricane, building collapse or earthquake, Hazelton said. If human scent is detected amid the destruction, they can climb into smaller spaces, alerting their handlers by barking. Once a dog locates a person, even in a tiny space, rescuers can then send cameras and other equipment and call in extraction crews.
Several life-find canines and three specially trained HRDs are on the Surfside scene. The cadaver dogs' names are Fierce, Flame and Phreya.
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