DOVER, Del.- Over a dozen Delaware fire companies will spend the next week in North Carolina to assist fellow first responders in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.
According to the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, 42 Delaware firefighters deployed Saturday morning. Fire companies from across the state responded to be part of the Delaware Structural Firefighting Task Force. Organizer Tucker Dempsey says the crews will be filling in at North Carolina fire stations, ready to serve in any way necessary.
"Maybe there is a fire company and all their members are worn out," Dempsey tells WBOC. "The idea was that they were going to go fill in at other peoples' fire houses and run calls for them."
Dempsey says the team was able to deploy in less than 12 hours after they were notified. The Delaware Structural Firefighting Task Force is scheduled for five full days of coverage in North Carolina, with two days of travel (one on each end). Dempsey says the firefighters will receive a federal per diem rate for their service, but for many it's about helping their surrounding states as part of a "mutual aid network."
"If a hurricane hits here we are certainly going to expect other states to do the same thing," he says.
The task force is heading to Raleigh first and will be assigned to specific locations from there. In addition to the task force, DEMA will also be sending a three person Damage Assessment Team to help North Carolina authorities.
