MUD SLIDE IN OSO
South King Fire & Rescue sent five firefighters with specialized training to help in the rescue and recovery efforts at the mud slide tragedy in Snohomish County. Lieutenants Roy Smith and Shane Smith along with firefighters Gary White, Paul Mernaugh and Travis McKinney are all a part of a specialized FEMA Task Force that is sent to emergencies throughout the country.
The firefighters were given the word that were being activated on Monday night March 24, the Puget Sound Task Force left during the night with 2 two semi -trucks and several trailers laden with equipment and 76 firefighters from the region. They drove through the night and arrived at the base camp near the slide at five AM. After a briefing about the work and their roles they were sent straight to work searching for victims and did not return to camp until late Tuesday night. Each morning at first light they were sent back out as part of the massive effort searching through the more than one square mile of mud and debris that overwhelmed roads , houses, and cars that is up to fifteen feet deep in areas. The search area is a slurry mud, rain, septic and fuel tanks mixed with the detritus of homes, garages and vehicles. Very highly trained dogs aid in the search and heavy equipment is utilized to move the massive piles of trees so that the searchers can do the hard work of locating victims.
The Federal Government maintains 28 highly trained search and rescue teams throughout the United States that are made up of local firefighters, 12 teams are on call at any time. Team members each have a specialty and their enhanced training is provided by their local departments and FEMA. When they are deployed to a disaster the Federal Government picks up the bill for their time and the cost of filling their shifts while they are deployed. Our fire department is fortunate to have 9 members who participate in the USAR team program. USAR stands for Urban Search And Rescue. South King Fire & Rescue benefits directly from their expertise and training at very little cost to our taxpayers.