INDIANAPOLIS — A 70-member team from Indiana Task Force 1 will soon deploy to the island of Maui, Hawaii, after being activated as a Type 1 Urban Search & Rescue.
Earlier this week two members, including a K-9 unit, deployed from Indiana to Maui as the search for survivors continues after deadly wildfires hit the island.
The group of 70, according to Public Information Officer Rita Reith, will have representatives from:
- Indianapolis Fire Department
- IMPD
- Wayne Township Fire Department
- Whitestown Fire Department
- Sugar Creek Fire Department
- Bargersville Fire Department
- Danville Fire Department
- Lafayette Fire Department
- Plainfield Fire Department
- Brownsburg Fire Department
- Speedway Fire Department
- Greenwood Fire Department
- Zionsville Fire Department
- Westfield Fire Department
- Carmel Fire Department
- Noblesville Fire Department
- 15 Civilians
The crew’s members are packed up and ready to go and will leave Thursday evening.
The team says while this isn't an easy task, they are hoping to bring closure to the families searching for answers.
"We are here to help. We hope us going there does help them, in some way, find their loved ones. We are trained for this and think we can help," Chief Jay Settergren said.
Settergren will lead the Indiana Task Force 1, made up of first responders, on its deployment in Hawaii.
The father, husband and Indianapolis Battalion Fire Chief is just one of 70 to leave their families behind and help with dyer search and rescue efforts in Maui.
"It can be tough to leave your family behind, but if something breaks in the house and they have to have maintenance, our crew left behind does a great job of filling that gap. They help the families if they need a babysitter, groceries or whatever," he said.
So far, Hawaii's governor says only around 30% of the island has been searched.
"Once we are there, we will be conducting secondary searches on those areas," Settergren said.
He says the first responders will be able to operate on their own for up to 96 hours.
"Once we are on the ground, we have tents and sleeping bags. We will not displace anybody out of hotel or anything like that. They will put us up generally maybe in a convention center or we will put our tents straight outside and we will just work out of those," he said.
Indiana Task Force 1 has run into challenges finding airplanes to get the crew, along with 50,000 pounds of equipment, to Maui. The crew had to consolidate equipment since they are traveling by aircraft.
"We typically go by ground, so we have motor coaches and vehicles behind us that take the equipment. Going across the country, we are one unit. Potentially, we could be split up if flights are of an issue to get us on," he said.
Settergren says the team is prepared to be gone for at least two weeks and will monitor each other's health.
"We are each other's keepers when we go out on these. We keep an eye out on everybody. Mental and physical health is extremely important. We work a lot of long hours in the heat, in long clothing on respirators, so we really have to watch both sides of that," he said.
Maui County has begun releasing the names of those who have been killed in the wildfire so far. The death toll has reached 106 people.
The wildfire is considered the deadliest wildfire in the last century for the United States.
