Members of Florida's Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1 and 2 were recognized Tuesday for their dedication and bravery while responding to last year's condominium collapse in Surfside.
Each member received a challenge coin at a ceremony at the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Training Facility in Doral to commemorate the work they did following the June 24 collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo.
"I know that I saw the work of God when hundreds of urban search and rescue teams showed up, working on this mound of rubble, fighting to ensure there were any signs of life," State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis said. "The emotional toll that some of these women and men went through led to some early retirements. Humans are just not built to see the horrible things these men and women dealt with."
Since the collapse, which killed 98 people, task force members like Frank Garcia said they still struggle with what they saw.
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"I’ve had some really high moments in Surfside and some really, really low moments," said Garcia, who was deployed with his 4-year-old K-9, Zoe. "We train and we train all year long and there’s no way to be prepared to that level."
On top of recognizing the task force members, Patronis was also there to advocate for more funding. He's seeking $10 million for more equipment and training for task force members.
“As we move forward and funding becomes challenging, for him to work extremely hard to allocate $10 million to this initiative is unprecedented and for that we thank you,” Miami Fire Chief Joseph Zahralban said.
