TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, during the Florida Cabinet Meeting, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis presented a Cabinet Resolution to members of Florida’s Urban Search & Rescue Task Forces for their service during the tragic Champlain Towers condo collapse in Surfside, Florida.
 

CFO and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis said, “Florida was forever changed in the early morning hours of June 24, 2021 when the Champlain Towers South tragically collapsed in Surfside. In the days ahead, all eight of Florida’s Urban Search & Rescue Task Forces, as well as five out-of-state task forces would be deployed to the third largest building collapse in U.S. history. These men and women left their families and homes to run into unknown danger, working for twenty-nine days straight in the worst conditions imaginable to save lives. They faced falling debris, fires, rain, and tropical storm winds. I cannot thank the more than 800 members of State and Federal Task Forces enough for their service to the Surfside community and the state of Florida. You are true heroes and you will always have a special place in our hearts.”

 

A link to the full Cabinet Resolution can be found  here.

 

Surfside Urban Search and Rescue Teams Recognized
 

• Task Force FL-1 - Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
• Task Force FL-2 - City of Miami Fire Department
• Task Force FL-3 - Hillsborough County Fire Rescue
• Task Force FL-4 - Central Florida Urban Search & Rescue
• Task Force FL-5 - Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department
• Task Force FL-6 - Southwest Florida Urban Search & Rescue
• Task Force FL-7 - Tallahassee Fire Department
• Task Force FL-8 - Marion County Fire Rescue
• Task Force VA-TF2 - Virginia Beach Fire Department
• Task Force OH-TF1 - Dayton Fire Department
• Task Force PA-TF1 - Philadelphia Fire Department
• Task Force IN-TF1 - City of Indianapolis Department of Public Safety
• Task Force NJ-TF1 - New Jersey State Police