PA-Task Force 1 to support Hurricane Ian response

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday that 45 members and support personnel from Pennsylvania-Task Force 1 would deploy to South Carolina later in the day to support response operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

“Millions of people in the southeastern United States will have a long road ahead of them in terms of response and recovery,” Wolf said. “We are in close contact with emergency management partners in those states and will remain ready and willing to assist however they need us in the weeks and months ahead.”

Wolf said the two members of PA Task Force 1 (PATF-1) who deployed to Puerto Rico ahead of Hurricane Fiona were reassigned to Florida in advance of Hurricane Ian. They are part of a federal incident support team that will work with Florida emergency management and response personnel to augment operations.

According to the National Weather Service, at this time Hurricane Ian is unlikely to bring significant storm conditions to Pennsylvania, although rain from the system could arrive across southern parts of the state over the weekend. Residents are encouraged to stay alert, as forecasts can change as the system gets closer over the next few days.

PATF-1 is one of 28 teams that are part of the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System, and is a federal resource that can quickly be mobilized to deploy to incidents anywhere in the country. The team is sponsored by the Philadelphia Fire Department.

Wolf said the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency is also monitoring the Emergency Management Assistance Compact system for requests for assistance. EMAC is a formal agreement that allows all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands to share resources, such as personnel or equipment, during disasters. All costs associated with an EMAC deployment are paid by the requesting state.