Fairfax County’s 9-1-1 team is lending a hand to the ongoing emergency response to Hurricane Helene, which devastated the southeastern U.S., including parts of Virginia, in late September.
Four dispatchers with the county’s Department of Public Safety Communications (DPSC) deployed to North Carolina this morning (Monday) after getting a call for aid from their counterparts in that state, who have been working nonstop since the storm blew through the Carolinas on Sept. 27.
According to the county, this is the first time that it has deployed DPSC staff outside of Virginia. Workers from Loudoun County, Prince William County, Charlottesville and the National Capital Region Incident Management Team were also dispatched, resulting in a team of 17 people.
“The mission will focus on providing emergency communications assistance with call-taking and dispatching in 9-1-1 centers, ensuring continuity of emergency response capabilities,” Fairfax County said in a press release. “The deployment will provide relief for North Carolina dispatchers who have been working around the clock so they can focus on family, their homes and relief efforts.”
Hurricane Helene made landfall on the Florida Gulf Coast on Sept. 26 before moving northeast through Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky and southwestern Virginia, bringing with it strong winds and flooding that the National Weather Service describes as “unprecedented.”
As of this morning, the death toll surpassed 230 people, making Helene the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm’s exact toll remains unclear, since many people remain unaccounted for after roads were rendered impassable and many communities lost electricity and phone service, the Associated Press reported.
Contrary to circulating misinformation and conspiracy theories about aid being withheld, thousands of responders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Guard and other agencies — including Virginia Task Force 1 based in Fairfax County — have deployed to the affected areas to assist with rescue and recovery efforts.
FEMA initially activated Fairfax County’s Virginia Task Force 1 team on Sept. 25 in anticipation of Helene hitting Florida, but the urban search and rescue team is now operating in North Carolina, helping local responders locate survivors.
Fairfax County says DPSC as more 911 dispatchers “on standby in the event future deployments are needed.”
VA-TF1 members continued search and rescue efforts by both air and ground yesterday in areas requested by local emergency operations officials. By integrating with local first responders, our search and rescue efforts are more effective. @ffxfirerescue @fema pic.twitter.com/irLJMpIuH2
— VA-TF1 / USA-1 – Urban Search and Rescue (@VATF1) October 3, 2024
