Word: usare
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...when you meet you'll know you're done," says Mitch Ross, a team leader briefing the search groups on what part of the town they'll take. The local police and fire chiefs arrive with Westlake Mayor Dudley Dixon, who says he had no idea the Ohio USAR team was coming but thanks them for being there. Dixon gives the team what proves to be its most important briefing point of the day, about the downed power lines that entangle so many of the residential streets. "Everything you see in Westlake is dead," he says. "Don't go pulling...
...Still, looting is a matter for the local police, and the USAR squad presses...
...someone doesn't answer, they're either evacuated, dead or don't want to be found-all of which are matters for local authorities, neighbors and family to worry about. USAR teams are concerned only about human life in imminent danger. They are not part of the FEMA or Red Cross food and ice delivery operations, and they are not counseling teams. The teams generally force entry only if a place has been crushed or they see other signs that someone may be injured inside. They leave behind an "X" spray-painted in orange with a code denoting that...
...USAR teams are where the workings of an inter-governmental bureaucracy are converted from local and state needs to federal action. Because the Feds feel they can't unilaterally move into a locality until they're told what the needs are, there's a lot of waiting involved, which doesn't sit well with the firefighters. The Ohio team stayed at the Reliant Center sports arena in Houston from Friday night, as the storm gathered off the shore and then struck, until around 7 p.m. Saturday to finally get word on whether they were headed to Lake Charles or Port...
...That afternoon, two six-member squads are sent to search an area that was previously wetlands with numerous residents and businesses, but after Rita, now resembles an island near Cameron Parish. The plan is to insert USAR teams by Coast Guard helicopter. They'll be searching some 300 to 400 residential structures and 40 to 80 commercial buildings in a 2.5 square-mile area. The FEMA liaison, Capt. Larry Collins of the Los Angeles Fire Department, says an air survey showed 80-100% destruction, "nothing but slabs" in parts of the area...