GR firefighters head north after ice storm to ‘help in any way'
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Two Grand Rapids firefighters are heading north to help add to the ever-growing response to the devastating ice storm in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula over the weekend.
Cpt. Curtis Walsh and Lt. Abe Schnieder are both Grand Rapids firefighters and members of Michigan Task Force One, a search and rescue team that is called upon when disaster strikes.
They told News 8 on Thursday before they left the station that while they have been a part of many recovery efforts, the northern ice storm might be a little different.
'Ice storms to this caliber probably will be a little bit new but of course being here in West Michigan, we are no stranger to ice storms, so we have dealt with them here as well,' Walsh said. 'We are going to go up there and help in any way that we can.'
West Michigan crews head north to help after ice storm
There will be 18 total task force members heading to Grayling to assist. The effort comes as 10 counties in Northern Michigan remain in a state of emergency from ice storms that damaged the region.
As of Thursday, thousands from Grayling to Mackinaw City and Petoskey to Rogers City , heat or fuel.
'The local responders have been inundated and overwhelmed, so we are sending 18 people from Michigan Task Force One to embed with local resources, to help clear roadways, debris, create ingress/egress in critical infrastructure and any other needs that are needed up in the area,' Walsh said.
Both Walsh and Schnieder joined the task force in 2018. Since then, they have helped with flooding in Texas and recently went to the Carolinas for hurricane relief.
What Michigan crews saw in North Carolina after Helene
News 8 was there as they packed up their equipment into their van before heading north.
'We prepare multiple ways; we have all of our personal protective equipment and stuff to sustain us over the three to four days that we are going to be gone,' Walsh said. 'We have gear and equipment for everything from swift water rescue to a building collapse, and obviously anything in between there will fill the mold for assisting with an ice storm response.'
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