INDIANAPOLIS — After two weeks of search and rescue efforts in south Florida, the Indiana Task Force 1 team got the OK to return home.
The crew expects to be home Friday after "one of the most challenging deployments in the team's history," according to a Facebook post.
First responders from multiple agencies across central Indiana make up the team. Indiana Task Force 1 was just one of 28 FEMA Urban Search & Rescue teams from across the country sent to help in the wake of the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida. To date, 95 people have died in the collapsed and 14 people remained unaccounted for.
"God bless the families of those lost and thank you to our fellow US&R teams who work worked side by side with us," the Facebook post said.
In the early stages of the rescue effort, several members of Florida Task Force 1 tested positive for coronavirus and were isolated from the assignment. When Indiana Task Force 1 prepared to return home, all members were tested for coronavirus, as is standard protocol.
Through this testing, IN-TF1 found that several of its members had contracted coronavirus while in Florida. These members have been isolated from the rest of the group and are being transported home in a rented mini-van.
IN-TF1 members will again be tested for coronavirus when they return home Friday.
Miami Dade Fire Rescue gave the team a send-off Wednesday.