BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Urban Search and Rescue personnel from fire departments across Louisiana gathered at the state fire marshal's headquarters in Baton Rouge at the start of the week.
On Monday, they hit the road bringing boats, equipment and decades of experience to the hurricane threatened Florida coast and whatever they might find there.
Task force members are experts in rescuing people in swift water conditions after a storm passes.
"A lot of people are trapped in homes and it's never known," Louisiana Fire Marshal Butch Browning said. "We have to go door to door, I mean building by building, and make sure everyone's been taken out, everyone's has been rendered safe."
The first wave of help from the Bayou State included 19 city of New Orleans public safety personnel.
“While keeping an eye on the gulf for our own safety at this height of hurricane season, we also reach out to assist others,” said Collin Arnold, Director of the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. “We know this assistance is vital to the response and eventual recovery of the areas that will be affected by Hurricane Dorian.”
First responders out of Alexandria, capable of securing buildings compromised by a strong storm, are also part of the team.
"That's what this equipment is for," Lt. Chase Hawthorne said, pointing to a truck full of gear. "It's to shore up a building to make sure it doesn't collapse on a first responder while they're trying to get the people out."
The Shreveport Fire Department is sending two rescue dogs.
Story continues below video
"I've been doing this for 35 years," SFD Battalion Chief Mike Mackey said. "I've been with the fire department for 35 years. This is just part of our makeup. This is part of what we do. This is just another asset that we can bring to the team."
Fire Marshal Browning says when Louisiana emergency personnel respond to a disaster out of state, it gives them the experience to save lives here at home if a storm heads our way. He added -- it's also the right thing to do.
"If Louisiana would be faced with any type of any storm, let alone a category 5 storm, like now, we'd be relying on all these other states to drop what they're doing to come help us," Browning said.
The goal is for the Louisiana Task Force to be set up and staged within an hour of Dorian's projected path by Monday night, then be prepared to work and stay in the impacted area for at least a week to 10 days.
Firefighters from Monroe, Pineville, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, St. George, Houma, Lafourche Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Kentwood, Natalbany, Hammond, St. John Parish and Jefferson Parish will also be part of the deployment.