TOPEKA – Gov. Laura Kelly announced this week that the Kansas Division of Emergency Management received another Emergency Management Assistance Compact request from Florida for a swift water search and rescue task force in preparation for Hurricane Milton’s arrival.
Working with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Kansas Task Force 2 was deployed earlier this week to Florida.
“Kansas is once again sending assistance to Florida due to another large and powerful hurricane landing this week in the Gulf Coast,” Kelly said in a prepared statement. “We’re committed to mobilizing resources and personnel to provide immediate support to those affected by Hurricane Milton.”
“The personnel responding to Florida to assist with Hurricane Milton have trained for this kind of disaster response,” Mark Engholm, Kansas fire marshal, said. “They are committed to providing professional search and rescue support to those in need. Kansas can be proud of our men and women who have chosen to deploy.”
Kansas Task Force 2 consists of personnel from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Chanute Fire Department, Cherryvale Fire-Rescue, Johnson County Med-Act, Manhattan Fire Department, Neodesha Fire Department, Salina Fire Department, Shawnee Kansas Fire Department and Wichita Fire Department.
Their objectives will be to search for and rescue individuals, provide basic life support medical care, transport humans and animals to the nearest location for secondary air or land transport, provide shore-based and boat-based water rescue, provide animal rescues, and support helicopter and urban search and rescue in water environments.
Fire departments in Neodesha and Cherryvale sent one firefi ghter each to Florida. Chanute sent two firefighters. Their deployments last up to 10 days, fire chiefs said.
