CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Local crews are on the ground in Miami, ready to help with any Hurricane Dorian related clean up and rescues.
According to Cape Coral Fire Chief, Christopher Moore, they left early Monday morning.
“We deployed this morning at 4:30 with what’s called a task force or strike team," said Moore.
The group, called the Lee County Strike Team, is made up of more than 20 members of local emergency services personnel. They were pulled from Lee and Charlotte counties.
“When we deploy members like this, the first thing we do is advise our personnel to be self-sufficient for at least three days," said Moore.
The Cape Coral Fire Department sent four crew members with this strike team and already has another member helping at the state capital.
“The original order start up at the [state] capital and they work their way down," said Moore.
This deployment is part of a statewide initiative called “mutual aid” which allows for agencies across the state to send help to areas that need it quickly.
Cape Coral Fire says the system runs more smoothly now, due to lessons learned from previous natural disasters.
“I think some of the first lessons learned go all the way back to the 1990s with Hurricane Andrew and from that point forward the state agencies have been working to have a much quicker response," said Moore.
Crews are expected to be there for at least a week, if help is needed for longer than that they will be swapped out.
