by REID EPSTEIN
New York Fire Department Batallion Chief Joseph Downey said yesterday the 35 members of his Task Force 1 who headed south Saturday were planning to spend Sunday night outside Atlanta and await morning instructions from federal disaster officials.
"We're going to stop and spend the night," Downey said while riding in a Ford Excursion about an hour north of Atlanta. "We don't know what they're going to do with us tomorrow."
Downey, 46, of West Islip, said his convoy of 10 vehicles, including two tractor-trailers filled with equipment and supplies to sustain the team for 72 hours, is prepared to tackle whatever tasks federal officials ask. Like millions of anxious Gulf Coast residents, he said, they were spending Sunday monitoring weather reports and waiting.
"Anything can happen," he said. "If they want us to do something, we'll do it."
Task Force 1 is one of 28 search and rescue teams around the nation that can be activated by FEMA in an emergency.
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