Press release from the City of Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Gainesville Fire Rescue (GFR) District Chief Devin Chapman, a highly-trained swift water rescue technician, has deployed to Texas with Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Task Force 8 to assist in ongoing search and rescue operations in areas hit by the widespread flooding that has devastated communities across the state.
Florida USAR Task Force 8 is a team of firefighters from Gainesville Fire Rescue, Marion County Fire Rescue, and Ocala Fire Rescue, who have specialized training in urban, wilderness, and flood-related search and rescue. The team was activated earlier this week following a formal request for assistance from Texas through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a mutual aid agreement among states. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis authorized the deployment, noting Florida’s longstanding commitment to sharing its disaster response capabilities with partner states during large-scale emergencies…