INDIANAPOLIS — Dozens of first responders from across the Indianapolis area have been deployed to help with the natural disasters happening around the country, including the wildfires on the West Coast and Hurricane Sally approaching the Gulf Coast.
Mark Rapp Jr., logistics specialists for Indiana Task Force One, was deployed to Oregon with the FEMA US&R Red Incident Support Team. This is his first time being deployed to a wildfire. He arrived on Saturday.
“Reality set in for me when we were landing. We were about 10 minutes from touchdown, and I started smelling smoke,” he said. “My first instinct as a firefighter was, ‘Is the plane on fire?' and then reality set in and no, that is the actual forest fire.”
His team is working on three fires right now in Oregon. Firefighters are facing unpredictable wind gusts and dry weather conditions.
“Where I am at right now, I am less than 10 miles away, and you can’t see a quarter-mile. I can’t see across the football field,” Rapp said.
Crews are working 15 to 16-hour days with mother nature — giving little time for a break.
“Our job is to go through and do searches, and you hope everybody got out and our search will be negative,” he said.
Meanwhile, people along the Gulf Coast are bracing for Hurricane Sally.
On Sunday, Indiana Task Force One deployed to Louisiana and arrived Monday. The 35-member team is made up of local firefighters, police officers, civilians, drivers and mechanics.
This team is different than the one that responded to Hurricane Laura. That group arrived back home in early September after spending more than a week in Louisiana helping with search and rescue needs.
The American Red Cross is also in urgent need of more volunteers from Indiana.
The organization said COVID-19 has made responding to these disasters more difficult. To help, they are speeding up training so volunteers can be quickly deployed. They are even offering virtual training options.
To volunteer, you must be 18 years old and have a valid driver’s license. You can apply on the Red Cross website or call (888) 684-1441. There are already Red Cross volunteers from Indiana in Oregon helping people who are displaced by the wildfires.