News

California Task Force 5 (CATF5) just received orders to demobilize tomorrow, January 18th at 7am, EST.

CATF5 includes firefighters and personnel from Orange County Fire Departments and other professionals from throughout Southern California. CATF5 has responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Gustov.

Members of CATF5 are highly trained individuals that were activated during the late evening of Wednesday, January 13th. CATF mobilized that evening in Irvine and then proceeded to March AFB, where they have staged since then. The task force performed daily duties, worked through logistical challenges, and trained for their possible deployment to help the people of Haiti.

Members of the task force and the entire equipment cache will leave March Reserve AFB tomorrow and expects to be back in Orange County sometime tomorrow afternoon. Should the need arise to respond to Haiti, CATF-5 will be mobilized on a rotational basis with the other task forces that are also being demobilized.

The Task Force received an Advisory from FEMA which stated that they were to continue to stage at March AFB.  Personnel throughout the day enhanced readiness and prepared for rain forecasted for Sunday night.  Crews covered the cache, which is outside in the loading area, with plastic to protect it from the elements.

Personnel continue to be in good spirits.  They have been exercising and continue to stay focused on the mission.  The Task Force continues to sleep at the on-base hotel.  With the predicted rain for Southern California, task force personnel have heavy jackets and proper gear to keep them warm and dry.

One minor injury to a task force member was reported today. He received treatment and returned to his duties. The health of all task force members continues to be a priority. CATF5 continues to monitor the situation in Haiti and remains hopeful that it will soon be deployed to help.

For more information, please visit:
California Task Force Five on FACEBOOK
Orange County Fire Authority on FACEBOOK

Last night, CATF5 was able to get some much needed rest. The Task force slept in the on-base hotel at March Air Force Base. Today, the task force continued to stage at March. All of the task force members kept busy working on restacking the equipment to fit inside the military aircraft. Meanwhile, the dog handlers took the dogs to a local training center to keep them ready by getting them some exercise.

Task force members were able to get necessities at a local WalMart and found the community to be very supportive of their presence and mission. CATF5 morale remains high and everyone is in a state of readiness. The task force physicians reported that the entire Task Force is healthy and injury-free. CATF5 has been keeping up to date with the excellent work that other task forces are doing in Haiti. Once their aircraft is confirmed, they will be on their way to help.

Photos of CATF5 can be found on the Orange County Fire Authority Facebook page.

Last night around 8:30, The California Task Force 5 Urban Search and Rescue team was activated to assist with the ongoing rescue efforts in the wake of the devastating 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. CATF-5 will join nine other US&R Task Forces in Haiti. The other teams deployed to this incident are: Virginia TF-1 (Fairfax), Virginia TF-2 (Virginia Beach), California TF-2 (LA County), California TF-7 (Sacramento), Florida TF-1 (Miami-Dade), Florida TF-2 (Miami), New York TF-1, Ohio TF-1,  and Texas TF-1. This is an unprecedented international deployment of resources, in that many of the teams listed above are FEMA teams typically limited to incidents within the United States.

CA TF-5 is a Type 1 team consisting of 75 members from OCFA, Anaheim Fire, Orange City Fire, Santa Ana Fire, Montebello Fire, and Chino Valley Fire Protection District. The team is comprised of highly trained and skilled responders from a variety of disciplines.

At this time, CA TF-5 is at March Air Force Base awaiting military transport to Haiti. As can be expected, there is a backlog of aircraft on the ground at the available landing strips in Haiti.

As I'm sure you've seen on the news, this is a huge disaster with reports of tens of thousands killed, and millions left homeless. The task forces that have landed and begun rescue work have already reported several live rescues. Please keep our responders from CA TF5, the other task forces, the many volunteers, and the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers during these challenging times.

Keith Richter
Fire Chief
Orange County Fire Authority

Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) California Task Force 5 has been deployed to the Haiti Earthquake.  Additional details to follow shortly.

Orange County Register story.