When there is a disaster and they are called upon, they are trained to stop what they are doing and go.

Two members of Michigan Task Force 1, who also are members of the North Oakland County Fire Authority (NOCFA), left at 5 a.m., Monday, Aug. 30 to drive to hurricane-ravaged Louisiana.

Hurricane Ida blasted ashore Sunday, Aug. 29 as one of the most powerful storms to hit the U.S. The Category 4 storm knocked out power to all of New Orleans, blowing roofs off buildings and reversing the flow of the Mississippi River as it rushed from the Louisiana coast, according to apnews.com.

NOCFA Chief Jeremy Lintz said three of his staff are members of Michigan Task Force 1 (MI-TF1) and two of them, Capt. Timothy Seal and firefighter Dustin Lehto, left for Baton Rouge, Louisiana. NOCFAs third task force member, Assistant Chief Matt Weil, was unavailable for this deployment due to preexisting plans.

Seal is a trained technical search specialist and swift/flood water rescue specialist. Lehto is a rescue specialist.

Lintz said the MI-TF1 is a specialty search and rescue team comprised of several fire departments in southeastern Michigan. There are a total of 44 members in this task force. Task force members go through several classes learning technical rescue, water rescue, collapsed structure rescues, destruction rescues and more. They respond to disaster areas when called upon by the local authorities. MI-TF1 also responded to the east coast after Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and to Midland in 2020 when the Edenville Dam failed.

Although they are headed to Baton Rouge, Lintz said their directives could change as need changes. They stopped in Kentucky overnight to rest.

MI-TF1 is fully equipped with specialty trucks and equipment and members are trained to be ready at a moments notice. Theyre like a small army, Lintz said. Task force members can be deployed for up to 14 days and NOCFA personnel fill in for when task force members are away.

Lintz said these teams are self-sustaining and pretty impressive.

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