Nevada team leaves for NY

Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2001 | 10:48 a.m.

The 62 members of Nevada's urban search and rescue team were to leave today from Nellis Air Force Base to help with recovery efforts in the rubble of what was once the World Trade Center.

Team members include firefighters, police officers, search dogs, two emergency room physicians and structural engineers. The team will relieve Federal Emergency Management Agency search and rescue units from other parts of the United States that have been working at the site since the Sept. 11 attack.

"We wish them Godspeed and know they will do their best under trying circumstances," said Clark County Fire Chief Earl Greene. "They are looking forward to doing all they can to assist in the great and grave circumstances taking place in New York."

There are 28 FEMA search and rescue teams throughout the United States and they are activated based on each unit's proximity to the disaster site. Each team must be ready to leave with just six hours notice and bring enough supplies to be self-sustaining for 72 hours.

The Nevada team was to be traveling with 50,000 pounds of specialized equipment and supplies.

"We know they are going to do all they can to make a bad situation better," said Clark County Commissioner Dario Herrera. "They will be in our thoughts and prayers."

Team members will work 12 hours on, 12 hours off most days.

In the first five days following the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, search and rescue units removed 30,000 tons of debris by hand, according to FEMA's website. More than 600,000 tons of debris remains.

The teams must remove the debris layer by layer using "bucket brigades" because the twisted steel beams and slabs make it unsafe to use bulldozers or other heavy equipment.