PA Task Force One returns home after assisting Miami condo collapse recovery efforts
PA Task Force One returns home after assisting condo collapse in Florida
As their loved ones from Pennsylvania Task Force One returned this afternoon, some families were excited and others in tears.
PHILADELPHIA - Families waited as their loved ones from Pennsylvania Task Force One returned home Friday afternoon, with some excited and others in tears.
Aldo Morelli is back home after spending 17 days in Surfside, Florida. He joined others in the search for victims of the collapsed condo high-rise building. It felt really good to bring closure to these families and these guys worked amazingly, and I m proud to be a member of Pennsylvania Task Force One, Morelli said.
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Phil Colvin, Lancaster County Government s emergency management director, is in Miami to assist with search and rescue efforts after a condominium building collapsed last week.
Colvin, who also volunteer s with Mount Joy Fire Department, is there with his dog Lucy, who is one of the nation s few live find search and rescue dogs.
Colvin is in Florida as a member of Pennsylvania Task Force One, A FEMA disaster response task force comprised of police, fire and EMS agencies from around the state. The task force arrived at the site on Thursday and is currently operating in a relief capacity, waiting on assignment.
There were a plethora of incidents involving fallen trees, downed cables and power outages Friday in Lancaster County as winds reached up to 64 mph in certain areas as part of a storm expected to continue into Saturday morning.
At one point â around 5:30 p.m. â there were about 21,000 PPL customers without power, according to Jane George, regional affairs director for PPL. That number was down to 1,121 at 7:15 p.m., George said. We had strong, damaging winds that were causing power outages throughout our entire service territory, George said. We re working around the clock as safely and quickly as possible to restore power to customers who have experienced outages.
In a split vote, the Lancaster County commissioners repealed the emergency declaration which has been in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The countyâs declaration of a state of emergency was originally enacted by the board on March 17, 2020, to allow the county to sign contracts and make purchases of personal protective equipment without the need for the formal purchasing procedure, which is often time consuming.
On Wednesday, Phil Colvin, the countyâs emergency management director, said the declaration was no longer needed.
âThings have pretty much moved into a steady state,â Colvin said. âThe urgency in which we need to act to either purchase things or enter into contracts has definitely subsided in the past two months.â