Thursday 1/14/2010 @ 1830 hours
VATF-2 was activated for deployment to Haiti at 1145 hours on 1/13/2010.
The entire team met at the Virginia Beach Fire Training Center where they
assembled an 80 person team and moved them to the point of departure at 0730
this morning. The team arrived at he point of departure at 0830 and began
the check in process at the air terminal. All the gear was checked in and
weighed for preparation to load it on the aircraft when it becomes available.
As you see the team has had a very long day. Due to the unavailability
of an aircraft our team has been moved to a comfortable location to get feed and
obtain some rest until their aircraft arrives. LED
Friday 1/15/2010 @ 1430 hours
The team has secured 2 C-17 aircraft and are preparing them for
departure. They are leaving this afternoon for Haiti. They will
arrive in Haiti late this afternoon. They are well rested and are eager to
get to work and assist in the rescue mission there. Please keep them in
your thoughts and prayers as they travel and conduct operations in Haiti.
LED
Saturday 1/16/2010 @ 1100 hours
The team arrived safely in
Haiti around midnight last night. All personnel are healthy are doing
well. They have set up their base of operations at the airport. Once set up they got some well deserved rest
and are anxious to get to work. They are waiting for the Task Force from
New York to arrive. They are expected to arrive within the hour.
Once they do our team will partner with New York to conduct search operations in
a large warehouse that has collapsed and has not yet been searched.
Communications out of Haiti remains challenging. Chief
Cover has set up a call schedule to obtain updates at 1000 and 2000 hours each
day. This site will be updated as soon as possible after each of those
calls. LED
Saturday 1/16/2010 @ 1330 hours
A Facebook page has been created for VATF-2. You can go
there as well to obtain the same updates that are located there. You may
also post to the wall to keep in contact and support each other while our team
is deployed.
Here is the link to the page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Virginia-Task-Force-2-Urban-Search-and-Rescue-Team/292526025619?ref=nf
Saturday 1/16/2010 @1130 hours
The team went out today
and conducted search operations at the
warehouse. The search came up negative. They
have been assigned a search grid and will go out
again tomorrow morning to do operations there.
They are only operating during the daylight
hours and have been assigned force protection
that goes out in the field with them to keep
them safe in the field. Next update after
1000 hours on 1/17/2010
Sunday
1/17/2010 @ 1030 hours
The team is resuming search operations in
collapsed structures in their assigned searched
grid this morning. The team is doing well
and their spirits are high. The weather in
Port-Au-Prince is in the mid 80's with partly
cloudy skies. Looks like no rain in the
forecast until maybe Sunday. Don't forget
about the family meeting tomorrow morning.
See the message at the top of this page for
details. LED
Sunday 1/17/2010 @ 1330 hours
The three Incident Support Team members will be
moved forward to Haiti this afternoon.
They have seen the need to move them since our
USAR teams are working so close with USAID.
This will make the unified effort easier for all
agencies to work together.
Our team is working
hard today. They have been split in our
red and blue groups, as we are designed to do,
to work two different sites. One group is
working at the UN building where they are
working hard to free a victims that is heavily
buried. Our medics have dropped the victim
a tube and they are providing him water while he
awaits rescue.
Our other half of our team is
working at the Christopher Hotel where they are
working to free at least five known live victims
that are trapped in the collapse. This
rescue will be time consuming due to the amount
of concrete that our team has to breach.
This
is great news and our team members are working
hard and have definitely had a morale boost
working these two sites. Please keep them
in your thoughts prayers as they continue to
work to free those that are trapped.
Just a
note to all the VATF-2 regional representatives
and participating Fire Chiefs. The
information meeting is open to you as well
tomorrow.
Sunday 1/17/2010 @ 2200 hours
VATF-2
rescued a survivor from the UN building today.
The victim was Jens Christensen, a United
Nations worker from Denmark, who managed a smile
shortly after being pulled from the rubble of
the collapsed U.N. headquarters building.
With this rescue the team's motivation and
sprits are extremely high.
To see video of the
rescue click on the link below:
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/17671277
VATF-2 Victim Rescue
Jens Kristensen, Denmark
Monday
1/18/2010 @ 1300 hours
Today we had our meeting in Virginia Beach with
the families of our deployed team. Chief
Cover participated in a conference call with our
Task Force leader in Haiti during our meeting.
All the families were able to sit in on that
call to get the information from Chief Piland
directly from Haiti. It was very
appreciated by all of those that attended.
If there is anything that we can do for our
family members that are here please contact us.
Yesterday was a great day for our team.
They are soaring high from the rescue that they
made. They worked for over eight hours to
free Jens. They were also provided some
additional creature comforts back at base and
were able to get a quick shower and some rest
before returning back to the field today.
This morning they are working in the Southwest
side of town. No report on specific
structures though. They are still working
directly with the New York Task Force and have
also teamed up with a rescue team from Jamaica.
Several of our team members went to the American
Embassy this morning for a USAR meeting.
They stated that it was good to see some
familiar faces there since our team and New York
are the only American Team at the airport.
Next update after 2000 hours
Tuesday
1/19/2010
Due to communication issues I was not able to
obtain any information last night. I will
resume my efforts this morning when I get into
the office. LED
Tuesday
1/19/2010 @ 1900 hours
VATF-2
conducted additional ground searches today in
their assigned sector of operations. They
are still working with NYTF-1. All
personnel are doing well and they are still in
the rescue mode of operation. They have
been provided some additional communication
capabilities that have enhanced their
intelligence for their operation. Next
update after 2000 hours.
Tuesday
1/19/2010 @ 2200 hours
VATF-2 had
another great day today. They conducted
their grid searches as assigned today.
Those searches produced no live finds. On
their way back to their base of operations they
were flagged down by local police officers.
Those officers led them to a residential
structure that was reported to have three kids
trapped in the structure. They surveyed
the structure and were able to positively
identify that their were live victims inside he
structure. They began operations and
breached their way into the structure and
located three kids inside. Unfortunately
one was deceased, but the did rescue and
extricate two live kids from the structure.
Our communications link was lost before we could
obtain any additional information about the kids or details of the rescue. VATF-2 is
continuing to make a positive impact on the
rescue efforts in Haiti. Great job VATF-2!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tX1ElrtA6s
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/34951641#34951641
Wednesday
1/20/2010 @ 0730 hours
There was another massive
aftershock in Haiti this morning. Our team was in there base of
operations at the time of the aftershock. All team personnel are
okay and sustained no injuries. Their base of operations shook but
also received no damage. Again, all team personnel are okay!
Thursday
1/21/2010 @ 0730 hours
Yesterday our Task Force did not locate any victims during their
operations. All team personnel are doing well and their morale is still
high. They are tired, but are pressing on to accomplish their mission as
we always do during deployments. They appreciate all the support that
everyone is providing to them over there. It really helps keep them
motivated. Next update after 2000 hours.
Thursday
1/21/2010 @ 2000 hours
Today VATF-2 was placed on stand
down today in preparation for their demobilization and return home to
Virginia Beach. Their return will be coordinated between the Task
Force Leader, program manager, public information officer, and the
family services liaison. As of right now the target date for their
return is sometime Saturday January 23rd. This is just a
preliminary target date and not set in stone. Just as it took two
days to get them over there, it could take just as long to get them an
aircraft home. So we ask you patience as we work out the details.
We will provide you with additional information as it becomes available.
Until then please pray for their safe return and for the families of
those affected by this disaster in Haiti. LED
Friday
1/22/2010 @ 1500 hours
We have received notification that
our team will definitely be back home tomorrow. The times and
details of their arrival are still being worked out. As soon as we
receive confirmation we will post their arrival time to the Virginia
Beach Fire Training Center. LED
Saturday
1/23/2010 @ 1045 hours
Our team is still in Haiti
awaiting an aircraft for their departure. We are 85% sure that they will
depart Haiti this afternoon. They will be traveling with NYTF-1 and they
have an inbound aircraft that is expected to land in Haiti at 1630
hours. Their expected departure time from Haiti is around 1800.
Their expected arrival time to the Virginia Beach Fire Training Center
is around 2200 hours. Please remain flexible as these plans are subject
to change. This site will be updated promptly as these plans are
confirmed. LED
1600 hours
VATF-2 will be arriving at the
Virginia Beach Fire Training Center between 2145 and 2200 hours.
All family members of those deployed please be at the FTC by 2100 hours
for a family meeting in Bennet Hall prior the arrival of our team.
Please keep our team in your thoughts and prayers as they travel from
Haiti back home.
Sunday
1/24/2010 @ 0800 hours
VATF-2 team members arrived home
safely late last night, reaching their initial destination at the
Norfolk International Airport. After exiting the plane, team
members proceeded through U.S. Customs and gathered their bags in order
to board awaiting buses for their final transportation to the VBFD
Training Center, where family members, colleges, and supporters
patiently awaited their arrival. As the team reached their final
destination at the training center, they were greeted with the applause,
cheers, and tears from those anxiously awaiting their arrival. It
was certainly a welcoming site for everyone as they rolled into the
parking lot, seeing all the family members, colleges, etc. waiting for
their departure from the buses. After being greeted by family
members and colleges, team members proceeded into the training center
for a short welcome home greeting and a quick debriefing, prior to
leaving with their families and going home.
Our team has return home safely
and are now spending some much deserved personal time with family
members and loved ones. RSQ
WELCOME HOME
VATF-2
&
CONGRATULATIONS
ON A WELL ACCOMPLISHED MISSION
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