City sends 120 to aid recovery

NEW YORK CITY is sending 120 emergency workers to Texas to help out with the Hurricane Harvey relief effort. “After superstorm Sandy, so many cities stepped up to help our people,” Mayor de Blasio wrote Sunday on Twitter. “We’ll do all we can to help those affected by this storm.” The assist from the Big Apple will include 40 members of the FDNY’s Incident Management Team and 80 cops and firefighters from the Urban Search and Rescue Rapid Response Team. Some left Sunday; others are slated to leave on Monday. The Urban Search and Rescue Team New York Task Force 1, a joint FDNY-NYPD special operations team, is set to deploy to San Antonio, the FDNY posted on its Facebook page. “We are set up for all types of rescues, including swift water rescues,” said FDNY Battalion Chief Jack Flatley, the task force leader. “I believe we’re ready to face any danger.” The Incident Management Team will serve as a nerve center of sorts, coordinating all of the rescue efforts in Texas, said FDNY Deputy Chief Dean Koester. “We’ll come up with a communications plan and set up communications in that area,” said Koester, who will serve as the team’s incident commander in Texas. The team will report to College Station, Tex., then go wherever it’s needed, using one or two tractor-trailers to haul in tents, communications equipment, radios, food and other resources, he said. “We basically build a small city down there,” Koester said. A similar team from Texas came to New York to help during Sandy, helping coordinate the National Guard in the city, he said. Harvey and its catastrophic flooding continued to wreak havoc in southeastern Texas on Sunday. At least five people died, but that toll was expected to rise. Gov. Cuomo said on Saturday that members of the New York Air National Guard were being sent to Louisiana and Texas. About 20 Red Cross workers and a mix of seven retired and active-duty city firefighters left New York on Sunday. They plan to hand out food, bottles of water, first aid and other necessities to those affected by the powerful storm. Lt. George Ricco Diaz of the FDNY’s Ladder 50 in the Bronx said he’s ready to sleep in schools or set up a tent, since most hotels are reserved for evacuees. “Immediately, they can tell that I’m not from there because of my accent. They know I’m from the north. And then they open up their arms. They know I’m there to help. They are very grateful.” Many, like Diaz, said they have assisted in previous natural disasters. “I’m personally motivated because in 9/11 the whole country responded to us when we needed it the most. Now it’s our turn,” he said. Joann Galardy, regional director of workforce engagement for the American Red Cross Greater New York Region, praised volunteers on Sunday at the agency’s Midtown offices. “To have you guys step up so quickly, it means so much to us, and most importantly to the people of Texas who are waiting for your help,” she said.