INDIANAPOLIS — One group of Hoosiers is finally returning to Indiana after spending several weeks in Florida and North Carolina to help with hurricane relief efforts.
Indiana Task Force 1 announced its release from Florida Sunday, Oct. 13 after three weeks of rescues and relief efforts from devastating Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
On Saturday, the National US&R Response System acknowledged the team's work when they helped evacuate over 300 residents from rising floodwater in their neighborhood.
IFD Battalion Chief Rita Reith said IN-TF1 took about 80 people to help with any emergency response that was needed.
IN-TF1 is one of 28 "highly trained" Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sponsored Urban Search and Rescue teams in the United States, according to the Government of Indianapolis.
The City of Indianapolis said IN-TF1 has seen operational deployments to Oklahoma City in 1995; the World Trade Center 2001; to Surfside, Florida for the Champlain Tower Collapse and Mayfield, Kentucky at the collapse of the Mayfield Consumer Products facility in 2021.
IN-TF1 has also responded tornado events in Indianapolis, Lafayette, Evansville and Henryville.
The Task Force was established in 1992.