Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department
4100 Chain Bridge Rd, Fairfax, Virginia 22030
703-246-3801, TTY 703-385-4419 and 703-385-1687
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fire

09/12/2005

Virginia Task Force 1 Activated for Ophelia

Virginia Task Force 1 (VATF1), Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department's Urban Search and Rescue team, received an activation order from the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), for Tuesday, September 13, 2005 to assist with Hurricane Ophelia.

Virginia Task Force 1 has been activated as a Type I task force, consisting of approximately 80 members specializing in six functional areas: search, rescue, medical, hazardous materials, logistics, and planning. The task force will be holding at their home station pending deployment instructions from FEMA officials.

Since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has provided several emergency resources to the affected hurricane area. They include:

• Thirty-four member Virginia Task Force I (Type III) team to Mississippi (seven-day deployment, returning September 6)
• Five members as part of a FEMA Incident Support Team (IST)
• Two members in support of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), as part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Several members providing operational staffing support at Headquarters, OFDA
• Two members providing humanitarian relief to affected firefighters and their families under the sponsorship of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
• Three members assigned to the regional Incident Management Team (IMT) providing command/control support in Mississippi under the direction of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)
• Two members assigned in support of Headquarters, FEMA
• One communications specialist in support of FEMA

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department continues to also work closely with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management Agency (VDEM) in support of requests received from all affected disaster areas.

Fairfax County is committed to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in all county programs, services and activities. Reasonable accommodations will be provided upon request. For information, call 703-246-3801 and TTY 703-285-4419.