Jason Delgado
The House and Senate agreed Saturday to provide $10 million toward supporting Florida’s urban search and rescue teams.
According to budget documents, the non-recurring appropriation will float team maintenance, servicing, equipment, vehicles, training and exercise costs.
The agreement comes after a back-and-forth budget negotiation between the chambers.
Lawmakers have until Tuesday to pass the budget in order to finish Session on time. The 2022 Legislative Session is slated to end Friday.
Search and rescue teams were front and center this summer as teams scrambled to rescue victims of the Surfside condominium collapse in South Florida.
Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is perhaps the most outspoke advocate for the teams. He appluaded the Legislature’s decision to fully fund the teams, as requested by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
“The building collapse at Surfside changed me as a person,” Patronis noted. “I saw these Urban Search & Rescue teams respond – and they fought and fought for any signs of life. I even saw them deployed for hurricanes in Louisiana. I saw their trucks break down. I saw them forced to repair their tires. I saw in Michael how these men and women save lives.”
Patronis and DEM Secretary Kevin Guthrie are among the army of state officials and first responders battling a 1,400 acre wildfire in Bay County. He thanked House and Senate budget chairs for signing off on the appropriation, noting the sacrifices and heroic efforts of the search and rescue teams in recent years.
“They slept in cots in parking lots,” Patronis said of the teams at Surfside. “I know, with every ounce of my being, when these men and women have the equipment and training they need – more lives will be saved.”
The Surfside disaster — which included around the clock rescue efforts for a full week — brought in all eight search and rescue teams with 370 team members from the four corners of the state, according to reports.
The Miami-Dade Search and Rescue Team has won praise as “the most elite” of its kind. Its members have worked around the world, searching for survivors in the rubble of explosions, earthquakes and the collapsed twin towers in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“The Governor championed this money. Kevin Guthrie put this money in his budget. Now these heroes will get the supplies and training they need. I’m a former member of the House of Representatives, and I know a penny doesn’t move without the Legislature’s sign off. They really stepped forward for these heroes. God love them for it.”
The teams are also among the first responders who are on the scene throughout the state when hurricanes hit.
They know no borders. They are deployed to other parts of the country to assist in various rescue missions.
Florida rescuers were joined by similar teams from Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., state records from Patronis’ office show.
