SANIBEL ISLAND, Fla. (WSVN) — The hours have been long and the work has been grueling, but first responders with Florida Task Force 1 are prepared to remain on Florida’s west coast as long as it takes to save lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
Video showed members of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Florida Task Force 1 loading up special machinery, as the team continues to assist more than 1,000 search-and-rescue members to scour the coast of Southwest Florida in search of survivors.
“To comb Sanibel Island, to make sure the residents there, if they need evacuation or they need medical assistance, we can go ahead and provide that for them,” said Capt. Robert Alicea, Rescue Squad Officer for Florida Task Force 1.
Crew members have brought with them supplies for those who are stranded on the decimated areas of Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Island.
“We’re going house to house just to see if there are emergencies that need to be taken care of, or if people need to be evacuated at this point, since they’ve been on the island for a few days now,” said Megan Washlow, K-9 Specialist for Florida Task Force 1.
As they work through these hard-hit areas, crew members take stock of who needs what and mark each and every home.
“To tag each and every residence to make sure that either it’s completely occupied or unoccupied and what these particular residents need,” said Alicea.
The City of Miami sent out a video of their rescue and recovery efforts on Fort Myers Beach.
Engineers are assessing the integrity of the island’s bridge, so people could safely access the area. They also check out buildings.
“We had to remove a ton of debris. The engineers, we looked at the bridge to make sure it was safe still to pass,” said structural engineer Jack Erdozain, “and then we came over, we found that the building was still standing intact. There were some breakaway walls that had fallen. Apparently, the residents thought that it was a collapse.”
In a time of so much sorrow and pain, Miami Fire Rescue sent out a touching video. It showed their first responders raising the U.S. flag to fly high above the destruction, as Southwest Florida continues its recovery.
Lee County officials have been urging people to leave these areas along the water, saying now is the time to continue evacuating, while crews are able and willing to continue to assist. However, some residents have decided to stay.
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