On Monday, February 6th, over 80 Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel including Firefighters, ER doctors, Paramedics, Structure Specialists and K-9s teams left their families. They’ve been deployed to Turkey, where they are searching for survivors and providing life saving assistance following the previous day’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake and related aftershocks.
These are the men and women of the LA County Fire Department Urban Search & Rescue Task Force (known internationally as USA-2). Their specialized training takes place year round. The USAR team regularly responds locally to swift water rescues, lost hikers and other emergencies. This elite unit also deploys as part of USAID to international disasters, like the current one in Turkey. This is their 20th overseas deployment, including earthquake responses in Japan, Haiti, Nepal & Mexico, and they’re ready to save lives once again. For more than half of the team, this is the first international deployment away from their families. Behind the scenes is another important part of the USAR effort: the spouses and young kids left at home.
The team left without knowing when they’d return – but we do know they won’t be home in time for Valentine’s Day.
“Firefighter’s 24 hour shifts are already hard on their spouses and children. To deploy for multiple weeks is hard on those they leave behind,” said former Fire Chief and LA County Fire Foundation Board Member Silvio Lanzas, “we are proud to be able to connect the generosity of the community with tangible support for this team while they are working so hard.”
The LA County Fire Foundation knows how important it is to take care of the families of those who give so much of their time for others and is sending care packages to the spouses and their children for Valentine’s Day.
LA County Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Short shared, “The work in Turkey is very hard. No matter how prepared you think you are, deployments like these take a toll on our team members. When word spread that the Fire Foundation was verifying addresses to send something special to their loved ones, it was a huge morale boost.”
“Our Foundation is always contributing life saving equipment, training and other important supplies. This gift is different because it supports the emotional side of the hard work. We know these team members will have seen and experienced great devastation,” says LA County Fire Foundation President Stacy Mungo Flanigan, “Funds raised this week will be used to expand the critical work we do.”
If you’d like to support our first responders and their families, please donate at www.SupportLACountyFire.org