SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 28, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Task Force 1 has been activated and is on its way to Georgia to assist in the response to Hurricane Helene’s onslaught.
The 45-member unit was officially activated earlier in the day, the Unified Fire Authority said Friday night. UFA administers the group locally.
The 45 include 22 members from UFA, the state’s largest fire department, and 23 from seven other departments: Ogden, Park City, Provo, Salt Lake City, South Jordan, West Jordan and West Valley City.
The task force is headed for Georgia first, but could be reassigned, UFA said. “The length of deployment is undetermined at this time.”
Based in West Jordan, Utah Task Force 1 is one of 28 federal Urban Search & Rescue response teams in the U.S. organized under the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Utah’s is a Type 3 team, with water capabilities, as well as two canine search teams and in addition to firefighters and paramedics can include physicians and structural engineers, according to UtahTaskForce1.org.
