Hundreds of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue members were welcomed back to Miami this Sunday after spending over a week assisting in search and rescue missions in Venezuela following the country's devastating twin earthquakes.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah paid tribute to the returning task-force members at Miami International Airport.
"You folks are the faces of hope to the thousands, tens of thousands of Venezuelans that are out there. I can't emphasize enough, hold your heads up real high, because you guys are absolute heroes," Jadallah said. "And the jobs that you guys did for the last eight days over there is bar none, some of the greatest work that we've done before"
Northern Venezuela was struck hardest by back-to-back earthquakes. The hardest-hit region was La Guaira state — and that includes the country's capital city, Caracas.
"The buildings were down, people were everywhere, and it was difficult. As a team, it was great because we're able to work together and be able to diffuse with each other and be able to go to work. I usually go there on vacation and go see my family, and this time the uniform was on, and it was time to go to work," said Captain German Leal of Florida Task Force One, who grew up in Venezuela.
Task Force's One and Two are made up of a total of 159 men and women and 11 canines. They worked alongside local and international response teams.
READ MORE: South Florida first responders help pull Venezuelan man from building 8 days after twin quakes
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