“We’ll search … all the way to the sand,” says OCFA battalion commander in Florida apartment collapse – Orange County Register

The Orange County Fire Department’s battalion chief, who is helping search for survivors of the South Champlain Towers collapse in Florida, said there was still hope of finding someone alive under the rubble.

In this satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies, heavy cranes are used to aid in the search and recovery operation at the partially collapsed South Champlain Towers apartment building on Saturday, July 3, 2021, in Surfside, Florida (Maxar Technologies via AP)

Workers search the rubble at Champlain Towers South Condo, Saturday, June 26, 2021, in Surfside, Florida, and the apartment building collapsed Thursday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Ride a jet ski as rescue workers search the rubble for survivors at the South Champlain Towers condominium, Saturday, June 26, 2021, in the Surfside area of ​​Miami. The building partially collapsed on Thursday. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Rachel Spiegel, right, is embraced by Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, left, as she requests information about a 12-story beachfront condo building that has partially collapsed, Saturday, June 26, 2021, in the Surfside area of ​​Miami. Spiegel’s mother Judy lives in the building and is missing. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Rescue workers search the ruins of the Champlain Towers South Building, Saturday, June 26, 2021, in Miami’s Surfside District. The building partially collapsed on Thursday. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

“There are still hard-to-reach areas,” Kevin Fetterman, 45, said in a phone interview Saturday night, July 3 from Surfside. “We are definitely in search and rescue mode. We will search until we get to the sand.”

Those efforts were halted Saturday as officials planned to demolish the remainder of the building before the arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa, which has been downgraded from a hurricane. The death toll reached 24, and 121 are still missing.

“It’s a very sad event for families,” Fettermann said.

Fetterman arrived June 28 as part of the National Urban Search and Rescue System. He is the head of the planning department on a 26-person team that helps plan the process. Fetterman worked on other disasters such as the mudslide in Washington state, the flood in Colorado, and the hurricane in Puerto Rico.

“When you manage an incident like this, it becomes very complex because there are a lot of things going on at the same time. …. It’s a very dynamic environment. Number 1 building collapse. Number 2 managing the fallout from COVID. If you add a hurricane in there, you can imagine that level of activity And the number of people involved (500-1000, he said), there’s a tremendous amount of complexity, and trying to coordinate that is one of the roles I help in,” Fetterman said.

He praised the “unity of effort”.

“It was a great honor to be a part of this event and to see all parties at the local, state and federal levels working together at such a high pace,” Fetterman said.

He admitted the physical and mental losses. Fettermann estimated that he and others work 20 hours a day. He is rarely seen inside his hotel room. Some workers are housed on a cruise ship.

Fetterman said the International Association of Firefighters has brought in mental health workers to help with what a few hours of sleep can’t help.

Fetterman praised his wife Jennifer for being a “rock star” and taking care of things at home in Temecula, where they live with their 11-year-old daughter. He said he expects to be on site for several more weeks.

Two OCFA building specialists are expected to arrive soon. Construction professionals are trained to determine if a building is safe to operate in, usually after a fire, earthquake or other disaster, OCFA Captain Than Nguyen said.

OCFA responders are part of a team of search and rescue professionals that includes employees from the San Diego, Sacramento and Oakland fire departments.

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