Jimmy Patronis deploys two rescue teams to Alabama ahead of Hurricane Ida

Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis has deployed two Florida Urban Search & Rescue teams to Alabama ahead of Category 4 Hurricane Ida.

Hurricane Ida is expected to hit the span of coast between Louisiana and Alabama Sunday with “life-threatening storm surge inundation,” according to the National Hurricane Center. Ida is expected to be a major hurricane, producing heavy rainfall, wind, storm surge and flooding.

Patronis, as the State’s Fire Marshal, deployed the Miami-Dade County Task Force 1 (FL-1) and City of Miami Task Force 2 (FL-2) to stage in Alabama ahead of the hurricane to assist with storm recovery.

Additional Florida US&R Task Forces are prepared to assist in Florida, and out-of-state if necessary, according to a news release from Patronis’ office.

“With Hurricane Ida projected to bring devastating rainfall, storm surge and flooding along the Gulf Coast as early as tomorrow, two Florida US&R Task Forces have been deployed to assist with recovery efforts immediately,” Patronis said in a statement.

Patronis also pointed out that these same teams worked on the weeks-long search and rescue operation for the tragic collapse of the Miami Surfside condo tower, which took the lives of 98 individuals.

“These are the same heroes that worked tirelessly on search and rescue operations during the tragic condo collapse in Surfside and now they stand ready to assist Gulf Coast states with storm recovery.”

The teams are qualified for physical search and rescue operations in damaged structures and are also able to provide emergency medical care for survivors, among a slew of other operations.

“These highly trained fire service personnel are the tip-of-the-spear when it comes to disaster recovery and I cannot thank them enough for their service in times of crisis,” Patronis continued. “Additionally, as we continue to track this storm, task forces are prepared to assist in Florida if landfall projections shift.”