by Michael Daly
As Gustav bore down on the Gulf Coast and New Orleans prepared to evacuate, 35 of New York's truly finest and bravest were assembled early Saturday at a Brooklyn warehouse, preparing to head south to wherever the monster storm strikes.
The 17 cops, 14 firefighters and four EMS personnel all wore blue shirts bearing the team's official designation: "New York City Urban Search and Rescue Task Force." They were united in the spirit and purpose with which they pursue their day-to-day duties in this city: the desire to help.
"We take the show on the road," said Police Lt. Franco Barberio, this mission's task force leader.
The team is in perpetual preparation, constantly maintaining equipment and replenishing supplies that are now packed and loaded. A team member added a case of C flashlight batteries.
Another called out a reminder: "We have E-ZPasses for the vehicles?"
At 7 a.m., Barberio assembled the team in the back of the Office of Emergency Management's warehouse. They went over every aspect of a meticulously planned operation, from radio procedures ("battery charges twice a day") to equipment ("couple of extra helmets in case we break some") to health ("stay hydrated ... medical check every morning") to the Form 214 activity log required by FEMA, the federal agency that funds such teams across the country. ("Please, on a daily basis").
Barberio said they would be staying overnight in North Carolina, then go to Atlanta.
"From there, it's anybody's guess," he said.
That would be determined by exactly where Gustav hits.
"They're expecting it to be a Category 3 Monday night into Tuesday," Barberio said. "Once we get into motion and go to work then it's going to be business as usual."
"Game face on," said the rescue team manager, Fire Battalion Chief Joe Downey.
Downey is the son of Ray Downey, the legendary fire chief who pioneered the urban search and rescue concept in the late 1980s. The elder Downey led a team to Oklahoma City after the 1995 bombing. He was killed on 9/11 with 72 other New York USAR team members: 59 with the FDNY, 14 with the NYPD.
The survivors passed on what they had learned from the fallen and they continued to hone their skills in their respective departments, going from emergency to emergency.
"We do it every day in New York City," the younger Downey said.
The team came together for its first post-9/11 USAR mission almost exactly three years ago, when Katrina struck New Orleans.
For 10 days, Downey, Barberio and the others searched flooded homes in the devastated city. The desire to help was joined by the wish to repay the country for all it had given New York in its own darkest hour.
"The guys felt compelled to do it," Barberio recalled.
Now, in the season that marks the anniversaries of both 9/11 and Katrina, the team was again heading south.
"Hopefully we won't see anything like that again," Downey said.
The team includes four K-9 dogs, so highly trained by their NYPD handlers they can distinguish the living from the dead.
"When they get a live human scent, they bark," noted the K-9 Coordinator, Police Officer Scott Mateyaschuk.
He said the dogs work long shifts and the handlers are careful to keep them hydrated.
"It's a chicken-flavored Gatorade for dogs," he said.
A passing police helicopter circled in tribute as the convoy set off, first two tractor-trailers laden with equipment and supplies under blue tarps, then eight vehicles carrying team members and gear.
The white command vehicle carried Barberio and Downey, who figured that wherever the storm hit, things were already looking better than they had three years ago, after Katrina caught FEMA woefully unprepared.
"This year, we'll get down before it hits," Downey said.
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