Local first responders head to NC for Florence rescue efforts

By: Amanda Pitts

alpitts@abc6.com

@AmandaPittsTV

HANSON, Mass. (WLNE) — As Tropical Storm Florence slams the Carolina’s, first responders here at home are getting ready to lend a hand in the rescue efforts.

Nearly 50 members from the Southeastern Massachusetts Technical Rescue Team are gearing up to head out on a nine-day mission in Raleigh, North Carolina, Saturday morning.

The team consists of first responders from Bristol, Barnstable, Plymouth, and Norfolk counties, and will receive a new mission assignment every day.

"We might be rescuing people from houses, we might be rescuing people from motor vehicles. After the storm passes, we might be looking for areas that have people in houses and just checking on them," said rescue team member Mark McCabe.

Tasked by the Massachusetts EMA, this is the first time the team will have boots on the ground in a storm. They were on standby during Hurricane Harvey.

"We take this very seriously and we train for it. They’ll be working 12-hour daylight operational periods from that point in Raleigh, so where they go from there is really undetermined. It’s where the need is and what the storm does," said Duxbury Fire Chief Kevin Nord.

Loved ones of the rescue team will receive daily updates on their safety. 

"We’re just anxious to get down there and do whatever we can to help the citizens of North Carolina," said McCabe.

The group is set to come back on Monday, September 24th.

(c) WLNE-TV 2018