MIAMI (WSVN) - A group of South Florida first responders who helped save lives after the devastation caused by Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas came home to a hero’s welcome.
With signs, balloons and plenty of pride, dozens of people gathered outside the City of Miami Fire Rescue headquarters on Saturday to greet 80 members of Task Force 2.
“My dad’s been training for this,” said Joe Cordero, who waited outside the station for his father. “He’s always wanted to be in [the Federal Emergency Management Agency], and he finally succeeded in the job that he wanted to do, and he’s out there helping out people who really need it.”
The team is made up of specially trained rescuers. In their latest mission, the team was sent out to areas of North and South Carolina that were ravaged by the storm.
“You could literally hear the water before you could see it,” said Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Nicholas Wohl. “That’s how raging it was.”
With floodwaters reaching rooftops, the Task Force 2 team helped in every way possible, from evacuations to rescues.
The deployment also left in its wake some difficult emotions for these rescuers to unpack.
“You know, he found a kid that was 1 year old dead. They went looking for the kid,” said Ralph Rodriguez, whose son is a member of the task force. “They rescued the mom, but they went looking for the kid, and he found him, and it’s a shame. He drowned.”
“Everybody on the team put in a lot of work, a lot of hours, a lot of sleepless nights, but it was all for a good cause,” said Miami Fire Rescue Firefighter Eddy Calderon.
The team returned to Miami to a warm homecoming after spending 10 days on their latest mission.
“Oh, I’m so excited. My son’s coming home,” said Marilyn Boursiquot, who welcomed home her son. “All his team, everybody’s safe, so that’s a blessing.”
And as these rescuers settle in to life back home in South Florida, many quickly found out a lot can happen in 10 days.
“We actually bought a house while he was away, so we’re going to celebrate,” said Jill Berman, whose husband is a task force member.
While 80 members of the Miami Task Force 2 team have returned home, at least 22 other team members remain deployed helping families affected by Hurricane Florence.
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