Corpus Christi Fire Department first responders are in Central Texas providing disaster relief after severe flooding inundated the Hill Country over the Fourth of July weekend.
Twelve members of the department’s incident management team, along with the Corpus Christi AMBUS, a specialized ambulance bus designed to provide advanced medical support and evacuation during large-scale disasters and mass casualties, are staging in Kerrville, Georgetown and College Station, according to Fire Marshal Tony Perez.
Staff from the incident management support team are working to address a range of incidents related to the floods, he said, while personnel from AMBUS — part of the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force — are helping rescue, transport and rehabilitate patients as needed.
The AMBUS can hold up to 20 littered patients or 24 seated patients. The AMBUS vehicle in Corpus Christi is one of about 20 vehicles across the state that may be sent to provide 24/7 mobile intensive care.
Fire department teams deployed across the state of Texas after President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, activating the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Texas and prompting a statewide request for assistance from communities across Central Texas to address the significant damage caused by storms and flooding of the Guadalupe River.
Perez said that the Corpus Christi Fire Department was able to put a team together pretty quickly and send an AMBUS in response to a request for assistance from the State Operations Center, run by the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
Through coordinated local and regional disaster response, established teams are sent based on their availability, he said.
The Corpus Christi Fire Department will continue to respond to the incident accordingly and will stay in the area as long as necessary, Perez said on July 7.
“Incident support teams are managing the event,” he said. “We’re at the will of whatever they need. It’s pretty dynamic and changes by the minute.”
The teams abide by a contingency plan in which new crew members could be swapped with current crew members on site, he said.
Another team could be sent if it looks like the disaster response period might be extended, he said.
Perez said the fire department would hold a news conference once emergency personnel return.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi first responders help with disaster relief in Kerr County
Reporting by Katie Nickas, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
