© 2025 WLRN
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue sends help to Central Texas in flash flooding, recovery effort

FILE: Oliver Samy sits with his dog, Lexie, during a send-off ceremony of the search-and-rescue team they’re both part of with the Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Department. Samy and Lexie are part of the squad assisting Florida with response to Hurricane Milton. The ceremony at the Fire Rescue Department’s training center in Doral was held on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. To Samy’s right is Lisa Bullard, another canine specialist with MDFR, and her dog, Phish.
Douglas Hanks
/
Miami Herald
FILE: Oliver Samy sits with his dog, Lexie, during a send-off ceremony of the search-and-rescue team they’re both part of with the Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Department. Samy and Lexie are part of the squad assisting Florida with response to Hurricane Milton. The ceremony at the Fire Rescue Department’s training center in Doral was held on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. To Samy’s right is Lisa Bullard, another canine specialist with MDFR, and her dog, Phish.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Urban Search and Rescue Team, as well as Florida Task Force One (FL-TF1), has been activated to help the communities affected by the deadly floods in Central Texas.

A specially trained seven-member team has been deployed, including two canine search teams and support personnel, to assist locating trapped victims.

" Our hearts go out to the families affected by this horrible disaster, and we're willing to do anything we can to assist them with recovery and getting back to a sense of normalcy," Battalion Chief Brandon Webb, who serves as Urban Search and Rescue Program Manager, said.

This comes just days after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on social media that he has directed Florida emergency managers to deploy three swiftwater rescue teams to Texas.

Throughout its history, FL-TF1 has assisted in some of the world’s most challenging emergencies, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the World Trade Center collapse, Hurricane Katrina, the Surfside building collapse, and international earthquake responses in Colombia, Turkey, and Haiti.

READ MORE: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue team poised to help Milton relief efforts

This is a News In Brief report. Visit WLRN News for in-depth reporting from South Florida and Florida news.

Christine DiMattei is WLRN's Morning Edition anchor and also reports on Arts & Culture.
More On This Topic