Nevada Task Force 1 welcomed home after 10 days in North Carolina hurricane zone

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Nevada Task Force 1 is back home after a 10-day deployment in the hurricane zone.

The team was involved in dozens of water rescues after the federal government activated our Nevada team.

Firefighters from the city of Las Vegas, Clark County, Henderson and North Las Vegas answered the call.

“The devastation on this deployment was more than I've seen,” said Henderson Fire Captain Mike Porter.

Porter didn't have to travel into the path of a hurricane. He volunteered. He is a member of Nevada Task Force 1, and responding to natural disasters is what they do.

This time, they were sent to North Carolina to perform water rescues in the wake of Hurricane Florence.

“It was 12 feet to 2 feet,” said Captain Porter. "Sometimes we were having to walk the boats; other times you were above the street signs on the side of the road."

Today, the 16-member team is back home, unpacking supplies and going through mandatory health screenings.

Task Force leader Dina Dalessio estimates the crew was involved in upwards of 40 rescues, helping citizens who were trapped inside their homes or cars with zero chance to escape on their own.

“In addition to the water levels, the contaminated water, communications, data transfer was nearly impossible due to the power outage,” said Dalessio

The team has existed since 1991, and it's been deployed on major events before, including 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the Oklahoma City bombing.

Along with water operations in North Carolina, Task Force 1 organized a food station and served meals to close to 300 people. The task force later received a "key to the city" from the mayor of Beaufort, North Carolina.

“It's one of the best tasks forces in the country,” said member Jason Ritz. “Out of 28 task forces we have in the country, I think we're in top 1 percent."

Now, the members of the task force have been given a warm welcome home from family members and even a rescue dog, that did not make this trip.

Members are required to take the next 48 hours off, although some have plans to head to Tuesday's Golden Knights preseason hockey game at T-Mobile Arena.