by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
As Tropical Storm Ernesto loomed, Downtown Jacksonville may have been arguably one of the safest places to be this week. Six Urban Search and Rescue teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency took up residence at the Hyatt. Six other teams are positioned in Atlanta. Both cities were determined to be strategic locations in the event Ernesto materialized in South Florida, according to Mark Stone, public information officer for the Incident Support Team for FEMA.
More than 350 agents from across the United States are waiting for direction from FEMA headquarters. While waiting, the teams continue search and rescue training and check and recheck their gear and
equipment.
“We have a full complement of acoustical and listening devices, break and breech equipment, a myriad of communication devices, our own doctors and structural engineers and K-9s and their handlers,” said Stone. “Our overriding theme is that we don’t want to vacate prematurely. We want to assure that the eastern seaboard is not going to need these assets before we vacate. We want to be proactive.”
The teams are from Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, Utah and Massachusetts.
“This is what we do for a living,” said Stone. “And we’re ready to respond from our locations usually within 2-3 hours.”