South Florida's Elite Urban Search And Rescue Teams Headed To Louisiana Ahead Of Hurricane Ida

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - South Florida search-and-rescue teams and utility crews are deploying to help as Hurricane Ida barrels toward landfall in Louisiana.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who doubles as the state fire marshal, said search-and-rescue teams will assist with storm recovery.

Also, the Florida Municipal Electric Association said it has assembled crews to help with restoring electricity after the storm.

The association said nearly 85 workers from seven public utilities will arrive in Louisiana through Monday.

A hurricane warning had been issued for coastal areas of Louisiana and the New Orleans area.

No part of Florida was in the forecast cone, but some tropical-storm force winds could be felt in the Panhandle starting Saturday, according to the hurricane center.

South Florida's response to Ida included some of the elite teams that helped during the Surfside condo collapse.

"Embedded in our task force is 80 members that are incorporated, you have hazmat technicians rescue specialist, swift water component," said Assistant Fire Chief Scott Dean.

Dean says as City of Miami Task Force 2 deploys to the Gulf Coast to help with Ida, they are prepared for anything.

"We take everything. We take hazmat equipment to make sure that it's safe for us to breathe and we take our dogs. We take all our logistical equipment, so we have a place to sleep at night."

Dean says they'll have everything they need to be self-sufficient for 14 days and that includes everything from forklifts to boats.

Captain Ignacio Carrol says the plan is to have all their items in place before the storm arrives.

"Our goal is to make our way up the state of Florida. Possibly stage somewhere outside Alabama and wait for the storm to pass by. Once the conditions are safe, we will start to maneuver into areas that have been affected by the storm," said Carrol.

In Miami-Dade, Task Force 1 is already on its way to the area.

Just about 40 people from Task Force 1 are part of the operation and they are taking
but for a portion of the group's deployment.

Ida is scheduled to arrive on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

"Most of the members that are on this team actually deployed to Katrina... We're hoping that we will not see that type of devastation that we saw before," said Carrol.

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