TAMPA, Fla. – While families and friends await answers about missing loved ones, 350 search and rescue teams are on the ground on Maui.
It’s a dangerous job in the heat and mountains of charred rubble that requires the skill of more than 40 K-9 corpse dogs from search and rescue teams across the country.
A Google spreadsheet titled “Maui Fires People Locator” still lists nearly 900 people as of Saturday night who were “unlocated.”
“It boggles the mind and you can’t really calculate why you’re seeing what you’re seeing because … it’s just not natural,” says Brian Smithey, Lt. Tampa Fire Department and Florida Task Force 2 K-9 Search Specialist told ABC Action News. He has responded to dozens of disasters since September 11th.
Smithey and his K-9 cadaver dog Probie, a three-year-old Labrador retriever, received the call for help last week and made their way to the island on Wednesday.
“Our day starts with getting up around 3:30am, then just after 4 we start preparing the dogs – wrapping their feet, putting on their booties and so on.” do, so we have to protect the feet,” explained Smithey. “It takes about 20, 30 minutes per dog and then we’re done. We start work around 6 a.m. and practically don’t go until after dark.”
This is Probie’s second mission. His first was Hurricane Ian.
“I have to say the Hawaiian people have embraced us like no other,” Smithey said. “I had the opportunity to talk to a few people. All they have is their shirt on the back and they’ve lost family members and they thank us for being here… to help define their family and friends and they’re hard to listen to, and that’s just how we go out. We’re trying to do the best job possible.”
Smithey said they would be there for as long as needed.
Comments are closed.