INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Task Force 1 (IN-TF1) will be deployed to Florida ahead of the landfall of Tropical Storm Helene.
The storm formed Tuesday, Sept. 24 in the Caribbean Sea and forecasters said it could strengthen into a major hurricane while moving north toward the U.S.
IFD Battalion Chief Rita Reith said IN-TF1 will be taking 80 personnel to help with any emergency response that's needed.
Reith said the team will be departing IN-TF1 Tuesday, Sept. 24 between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
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.
