How Charlotte FD’s water rescue team is helping with Tropical Storm Debby efforts

CHARLOTTE — As Tropical Storm Debby moves up to the North Carolina coast, state officials are putting high-level resources in specific places, and the Charlotte Fire Department contributed one of its specialized teams for the effort.

Gov. Roy Cooper has activated the state National Guard and some swift water rescue teams, including one from the Queen City.

Channel 9′s Evan Donovan learned that 16 men and one woman left Wednesday morning for Elizabethtown in Bladen County. They’re a Type 1 Swift Water Rescue Team, with boats and loads of specialized equipment, and they’re prepared for just about anything when Debby hits.

“We could possibly going to work as soon as we get on the road,” said Bart Bell with NC Task Force 3. “But the other thing I would tell you is we are a water team; where we’re going, we will probably end up in the all-hazards format. We may be walking. So just prepare yourselves for that.”

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Cooper laid out the state’s plan for storm response Wednesday morning, activating 350 members of the National Guard and putting those swift water rescue teams on standby. He also warned North Carolinians to get prepared now.

“A slow-moving tropical storm can sometimes even be more deadly than a quick moving hurricane, that means even without the constant high winds, we must remain on high alert,” Cooper said.

The task force from CFD says they’re trained and ready, but they never know what will pop up.

“We go up into Morganton and move when they do a dam water release from Lake James to get that moving water experience. But then it’s the stuff that we deal with every day: the humidity, the bugs, the stuff that’s now floating on the water that’s normally down, mounds of fire ants,” Dep. Chief Pete Skeris with CFD said.

No matter what happens, the task force leader has full confidence in his team.

“The members that are deploying are part of the special operations within CFD, they’re the A-personalities, the go-getters,” said Josh Johnson, leader of NC Task Force 3. “They love what they do, they do it very well, and when we go down range, I don’t have to worry. The job’s going to get done, and there’s going to be no issues.”

The team is in place in Bladen County as of Wednesday evening.

Cooper says President Joe Biden has approved a federal disaster declaration for North Carolina, which will free up resources right after the storm to help people recover.

(WATCH: Debby: Meteorologist Joe Puma reporting from Surfside Beach, SC)

Debby: Meteorologist Joe Puma reporting from Surfside Beach, SC

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