First Responders Patrick DuBose of Devine, Texas and Clint Cooke of Castroville, Texas deployed with the Texas A&M Task Force 1 (TX-TF1) last week in response to Hurricane Helene to Florida a couple days ahead of the storm. The search and rescue team of 80 personnel, and 6 dogs, with their equipment and rescue vehicles arrived ahead of the storm on Wednesday, September 25 in Pensacola, Florida.
He is now in his 27th year of dedication of dedication to the Urban Search and Rescue team.
Task Force 1 helped with missions in Tampa, Florida after the Category 4 Hurricane Helene hit. They next headed to Athens, Georgia on Sunday and then on to Yancey County, North Carolina. They are currently searching for survivors and victims’ in Yancey County who have been devastated by the 1,000 year flood and mudslides as a result of Hurricane Helene. “The mud slides are still happening,” said Patrick DuBose. “There is a lot of work to be done up here, we will be here for a awhile.”
TEXAS A&M TASK FORCE 1 IS LOGISTICALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT FOR THE FIRST 72 HOURS OF OPERATION
Texas A&M Task Force 1 (TX-TF1) functions as one of the 28 federal teams under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s National Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) System and as a statewide urban search and rescue team under direction of the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). TX-TF1 also coordinates the state’s swiftwater rescue program and the helicopter search and rescue team which works in conjunction with Texas Military Department.
TX-TF1 held its first organizational meeting on February 14, 1997 after the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Soon after inception, TX-TF1 went on their first deployment as an Urban Search and Rescue Team in May 1997 to the central Texas town of Jarrell, after an F-5 tornado touched down.
In June 2001, TX-TF1 joined the FEMA National Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) System and responded to their first national incident during the events of September 11, 2001. Joining many task forces, TX-TF1 responded to the collapsed World Trade Center buildings in New York City and searched tirelessly through the debris for victims, something DuBose will never forget, a life changing experience.
Throughout its existence, TX-TF1 has served the state of Texas and the nation by participating in over 100 deployments, relentlessly completing search and rescue missions with highly trained and qualified personnel.