By Michael J. Barakey and James E. Ingledue
Virginia Task Force 2 (VA-TF2) was activated to the Haiti earthquake on January 13, 2010. We were mobilizing as members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Urban Search and Rescue program, on interagency agreement with the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Our members prepared for an unprecedented international mission.
We awaited an airframe to bring our 81-person task force with 125,000 pounds of equipment to the disaster. Our team worked throughout the day to ready our cache for air and to prepare for the conditions in Haiti. We received doxycycline from the team physicians and medical component, as malaria, Dengue fever, and other vectors were prevalent in Haiti. We learned about the tropical climate and the hydration needs to operate in such an environment. We were leaving an environment with temperatures in the mid 30s for an environment that was in the mid 90s.
| (1) A technical search specialist uses a search camera to look in voids at the Palms garment factory. (Photos courtesy of VA-TF2.) |
We were prepared to fly military cargo aircraft by midday on January 14, but because of the number of international flights in and out of the Haitian capital and limited space on the tarmac to hold inbound aircraft, we were unable to depart. The team was moved by bus to a nearby hotel for the night. The following morning, January 15, we loaded the aircraft with 19 pallets, four F-350 pickup trucks, two all-terrain utility vehicles, 81 members, and four canines for the three-hour flight to Port-au-Prince.
When we arrived at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, it was dark, as the island was without power. Because of limited aircraft parking space and no jet fuel to refuel the aircraft, a rapid turnaround was required. The two planes had one hour to offload all personnel and the cache.
| (2) Using a search camera, members of VA-TF2 located a trapped diplomat from Denmark at the Hotel Christopher. The building was once a six-story building on a hillside in Port-au-Prince. |
With no orders or place to report, our task force leaders (TFLs) made a quick recon of the immediate area surrounding the airfield. They came back and reported that four American search and rescue teams were already housed at the U.S. Embassy, off the airport property. Since space at the Embassy was limited, VA-TF2 had to stay at the airport. Our TFLs conducted a recon of the airport grounds and decided to join the international rescue camp and integrate VA-TF2 with the other search and rescue teams from around the world accumulating at the airport. That night, we hunkered down on a strip of grass between the runway and the tarmac. Sleeping on plastic, and using our gear bags to rest our heads, we had only four hours to prepare for our first mission at sunrise. Our makeshift camp was only a few hundred feet off the busy flight line. The grounds were active with pallets moving, forklifts, and aircraft.
Our first operational day was January 16. At first light, we divided into two teams: One team began search and rescue operations and the other team established a base of operations (BoO) at the airport within the evolving international camp. As we integrated into the international rescue community, we reported to the United Nations (UN), which was running the rescue operations out of an on-site operations and coordination center (OSOCC) from the east side of the airport. The area our TFLs selected to establish our BoO was in an area in the front of the international encampment. The team members worked throughout the day, building our BoO with 10 western shelter tents, moving our pallets and cache, establishing communications and a command tent, and locating maps of the island.
We divided the land to accommodate the New York Task Force 1 (NY-TF1) team, scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince that afternoon. We started to develop relationships with others at the airport, including the airport fire department and the Jamaican military. The logistics team coordinated the BoO development, placing the tents and cache to meet our mission and the UN’s mission. Once New York arrived, we assisted the team with setup. By nightfall, we had an elaborate BoO established with 160 VA-TF2 and NY-TF1 search and rescue members and their cache ready for work.
| (3) A UN diplomat was passed down a line of members from VA-TF2 after his rescue from the Hotel Christopher, five days after the earthquake. |
Meanwhile, the other half of the task force was moving to Sector 13. The search team managers were using maps provided by the OSOCC and coordinating with the Pakistan military, our UN-provided security. The maps were rudimentary yet effective. As the team left the airport property, many unknowns existed.
Our initial assessment of the island found a widespread destruction, with a large number of structures damaged. The team could have stopped at many buildings, yet our mission was in south Port-au-Prince, in Sector 13. We continued to the sector, and it seemed like there was no beginning or end, as the destruction was endless.
Our mission from the OSOCC was to a specific building, or target: a clothing factory from which the OSOCC was receiving text messages from trapped workers. We arrived to find a once four-story-high factory reduced to a pile of rubble with a large “V” collapse in what was left of the still recognizable fourth floor.
| (4) The Belgium field hospital in Port-au-Prince. |
Our TFL, structural engineer, and search team manager had a meeting with the building owner. After learning about the building, the search team manager initiated the search. The garment factory employed approximately 600 workers. The earthquake occurred at 1653 hours, and half of the employees would still be in the factory. This information was useful, and we learned that relationships with the locals were necessary for our task force to be successful.
Our search was directed to an area where the trapped workers would be located. The owner could not account for the workers—who had made it out and who could still be trapped. We searched for three hours, using hailing (yelling into a building/rubble pile and listening for a reply) and canine searches and deploying visual and listening devices, yet there was no indication of survivors. The odor of decay and human remains was present. We continued with more searches of heavily damaged buildings. Three more times that day we had the same results: nothing to indicate survivors, just human remains.
On Sunday, January 17, we received orders from the OSOCC to continue searching in Sector 13. This portion was in southwest Port-Au-Prince along the coast; we had searched there the day before. The task force again was divided into two teams: One team would complete the assigned mission from the UN, and the other team would provide backup and continue to establish showers, water purification systems, and latrines and find rations at the BoO.
| (5) VA-TF2 medical personnel evaluated, provided a local anesthesia to, and sutured Rogue the canine search team member following an injury he sustained to his left leg. |
At 0700 hours, as we were preparing our team for the mission, we received word of a confirmed trapped victim at a UN-run building. By 0739 hours, VA-TF2 had notified the OSOCC of this and diverted to the location. Simultaneously, the OSOCC was receiving information of a confirmed person trapped at a target named the Hotel Christopher, a six-story building built on a hillside that had collapsed to about a 30-foot pile of rubble. The OSOCC came to our BoO and requested our task force to deploy a team to the Hotel Christopher target. They provided a UN security force and escort. The second team assembled and went to this newly assigned target. The first team had arrived at the target and confirmed a trapped victim. The rescue would take time because the victim location was not exact.
Crews worked in 20-minute rotations as the temperature reached 100ºF. As the second team arrived at the target, members were met by members of California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2), who said some of our team members were working a site just down the road. After some conversation with the local security forces, it became clear that the two sites, the UN building and the Hotel Christopher, were one and the same. The second team from VA-TF2 joined the team already working the pile to assist in the rescue.
Verbal contact with the victim allowed us to narrow the area to dig and to dig with the depth necessary to locate him. He told us he was in Room 309. Working tirelessly in the heat, rescue squads removed broken concrete and rotated with technical search members with cameras. Rescue would clear an area of rubble, and then search would probe with the camera. We moved large slabs of concrete with an onsite crane, but we had to move hundreds of pounds of rubble by hand and bucket. We cut rebar and broke concrete into smaller movable pieces. A couple of hours into the operation, we made visual contact using a search camera and saw three fingers poking out between large chunks of rubble. “Wiggle your fingers,” the camera operator directed, and the fingers moved, confirmation that we had located a live victim. A short conversation over the intercom on the camera comforted the victim and reassured him that he would soon be removed. We sent him a bottle of water taped to a long piece of wood through the same void as the camera.
The trapped diplomat had spent the past five days in a 5- × 1- × 11⁄2-foot sarcophagus. After several more hours of selected debris removal under the guidance and direction of the team’s structural engineers, we opened about a two foot square through which the UN diplomat could escape. He passed out his laptop computer and his shoes. Then, with assistance from members of the rescue squad, he appeared and was placed into a stokes basket to be brought down the side of the building’s remains.
| (6) Members of VA-TF2 and NY-TF1 work to removed trapped children from their home in Port-au-Prince. |
Passed person to person, between two lines of rescue workers, he was moved to a waiting medical team. We had just rescued a UN staff member from Denmark five days after the earthquake.
On Monday, January 18, VA-TF2 received orders from the OSOCC to search Sector 14 in south Port-au-Prince in coordination with NY-TF1. We departed in our caravan and security detail to the Hotel Oloffson. We immediately asked for and received locals who spoke the local language, French, and English. They were familiar with the local village, and they knew who needed assistance and who was trapped. Our intelligence indicated that seven confirmed people were trapped in a basement, outside the Hotel Oloffson. Also, the locals reported that many people needed rescue throughout the area. VA-TF2 and NY-TF1 divided into two teams and set out on foot because the streets were narrow. We saw many buildings that were destroyed but were concerned only about those that the locals knew contained live victims.
Our intelligence confirmed that a secondary school one mile up a hillside had students still trapped. We arrived at the school and performed searches, using listening devices, hailing, and canines. We confirmed 20 fatalities but no live victims. The locals were grateful we searched the school (which had not yet been searched) and confirmed no one was alive to give them a sense of closure. We marked the building and continued our foot search in Sector 14.
Back at the Hotel Oloffson, NY-TF1 and VA-TF2 reconvened and had a managers meeting to determine our next mission. We received word from our BoO, via SAT-phone, that the UN was reporting a hospital in need of being searched, and VA-TF2 and NY-TF1 were redirected to this target. We arrived at the Laboratory National, in Sector 20, and found the hospital’s grounds occupied by Belgium soldiers and a field hospital staffed by Belgium medical staff. We soon realized that the hospital had been searched but not the surrounding area. We divided the sector with NY-TF1 and began a ground and vehicle search. The sector had moderate damage, with isolated buildings of heavy destruction. We interviewed the locals and were told of no buildings or targets to search. We went back to the Belgium field hospital to assist with the patients and to receive further orders and missions.
(7) This school was one of the many targets VA-TF2 searched and cleared. |
The field hospital consisted of three white tents and several buses. It had a functional operating room and recovery room and triaged patients who were delivered by the Haitian citizens to the front gates of the compound. They were treating multiple patients and had amputated the lower leg of a Haitian female.
We returned to the BoO after reports of civil unrest and orders to return to the airport. The area around the gate entering the airport was continuing to grow with Haitians, and the security detail was growing as well. This day we cleared two sectors, with many confirmed fatalities. Although we had no live rescues, we were able to report back to the OSOCC that we had searched, cleared, and marked many target buildings.
On Tuesday, January 19, VA-TF2 was directed to search a large building in the north Sector 11 with technical search and canine. The team arrived at the building at 0900 hours and soon had an emergency involving Rogue, one of our four canines: He had received a deep puncture wound while performing a search. Rogue was immediately transported back to our BoO. Using a satellite phone, the team doctor consulted with our team veterinarian, who gave directions for sedation and treatment. At the BoO, the medical team prepared, and at 1115 hours, Rogue was receiving treatment for a deep muscle puncture and laceration.
Rogue was replaced by one of the canines remaining at the BoO, and the team continued to work on the pile until 1406 hours. After members completed the search of the target, a police station, they were redirected to a school.
At 1520 hours, a French-speaking Haitian police officer approached our convoy. One of our task force members spoke French and was able to communicate. The officer reported a potential rescue down an alleyway—possibly two live children buried in a house deep into the alley. Reports of this type were becoming more common; people wanted to believe their family members were still alive and wanted us to search. It was getting late; and team members had already worked all day in extreme temperatures. However, the fact that a police officer was reporting this gave the story more credibility. We followed the officer down the alley to the home and transmitted the coordinates back to the BoO.
We found two family members feverishly attempting to free their loved ones with only a piece of a hacksaw blade and a broken hammer—no match for the concrete and other debris that covered their children. By 1550 hours, our rescue team manager and task force leader had confirmed the report of two live victims; transmitted the coordinates and location back to the BoO; and requested an ambulance, which would take an hour to arrive. NY-TF1 had heard our radio traffic and offered to assist. VA-TF2 and NY-TF1 worked side-by-side to remove the debris and breach the concrete. Having made visual contact with the children, technical search members were able to help direct the rescue efforts so as to limit the amount of debris that would fall onto and around the victims. As night fell, members at the BoO deployed to the site to support the members with generators, lights, water, and additional breaking and breaching equipment.
Teams rotated on and off the pile. VA-TF2 and NY-TF1 rescuers were anxiously awaiting the faces of the voices they could now hear. Communication was limited because of the language barrier, but the trapped children knew we were there and that they soon would be free. By 2027 hours, we made access to Kiki. Scared by the sight of filthy, helmeted, and masked rescue workers all shining flashlights toward him and reluctant to leave his sister and other siblings who had perished, Kiki, age seven, had to be coaxed out of the concrete tomb by an aunt. She was helped down into the crater the rescue teams made to tell him it was okay to come out. He emerged to applause. Kiki had a huge smile and raised his arms in victory.
His 10-year-old sister Sabrina was next. Again, she was greeted by huge applause from all the rescue workers as well as bystanders. They had spent seven days inside their crushed home.
At 0608 hours on January 20, an earthquake shook our BoO. Unlike many of the smaller, less violent aftershocks, everyone felt this one. It was reported to be a 6.1 magnitude, with the epicenter 35 miles away from Port-au-Prince. Reports by news agencies at home had many of our loved ones and our fire chief concerned. A TFL called home to assure the chief we were all fine; he passed the word on to our families.
That morning, VA-TF2 was sent to Sector 13’s north and west sides. Our team left the airport with NY-TF1 at 0800 hours to continue our search and rescue efforts. We arrived in the sector and divided into two divisions. We attacked this sector on foot and went door to door asking citizens if they had any information on potential live victims. We were directed to various locations and performed searches of them. As we searched, we marked all buildings and documented the name and coordinates. We then moved our convoy to the port and searched that area. The area is impoverished and sustained little damage because of the type of building construction. We witnessed thousands of Haitians migrating to the port to find a way off the island.
We continued our efforts throughout the sector, searching various targets and communicating with the locals to determine if anyone may still be alive in the rubble. We stopped by the Red Cross Hospital, and workers said they knew of no one in the area in need of rescue. We were directed to Sector 13A, which is a densely populated area near the port. Evidence of an earthquake was limited, as the structures were not built to fall. We again went by foot, interviewing the locals to determine the location of any potentially trapped Haitians. Our searching uncovered no potential rescues, but the day was productive. We had cleared another sector and marked more targets so that other teams would not duplicate our searches.
Our evenings consisted of tool rehab, meetings at the OSOCC, and managers meetings. Our medical staff administered doxycycline and medically evaluated us and the canines. We ate meals ready-to-eat and drank bottled water. Our communications team used portable radios and satellite phones to execute a communications plan that would keep us informed, communicating, and accountable. The demobilization plan was formulated by the TFLs and the logistics team manager.
On January 21, we learned that our cache would stay in Haiti. Any personal gear worn off the airport property was to be left in a pile and all other gear decontaminated. We left our BoO intact, including the western shelter tents, toilets, and showers. All food and water would be left. The BoO would be used to briefly house members of the U.S. military and then turned over to the Haitian people.
On January 22, another aftershock shook the BoO. That evening, the rescued diplomat from Denmark visited our BoO. He described his time entombed, waiting to be rescued. He stated he tried to muster the strength to continue to bang on his desk and that he never gave up the strength to live. We asked about the importance of his shoes and why he sent them outside his tomb before climbing out of the hole. He said his shoes had become very valuable to him, as he had used them as a pillow under his head when he was tired and used the heel of his shoe as a hammer to bang on the desk leg, hoping to be heard and rescued. That visit was very emotional for our victim and our entire task force.
On January 23, our TFLs conducted the formal debriefing of this deployment. Every manager spoke about the success and obstacles. As a task force, we celebrated many successes and felt that we made an impact while in Haiti. Although the sights of human remains and fatalities were prevalent, the mission was successful. We rescued three lives, searched many buildings, and cleared targets identified by the UN that could have potential rescues. We worked in the international rescue camp alongside 54 international teams and 1,700 rescuers. VA-TF2 and NY-TF1 worked together to represent the United States and became known as USA-5 and USA-6 to the international rescue community. We departed at 1815 hours and arrived home at 2315 hours to our awaiting families, fellow firefighters, chief officers, and city leaders. After being debriefed, we were dismissed at 0135 hours on January 24 for 72 hours of stand-down and rest.
MICHAEL J. BARAKEY is a battalion chief with the Virginia Beach (VA) Fire Department, where he is assigned to operations. Previously, he was chief of training. He is a hazmat specialist, an instructor III, a Nationally Registered Paramedic, and a neonatal/pediatric critical care paramedic for the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia. Barakey is a plans team manager for the VA-TF2 US&R team and has a master of public administration from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He is a classroom instructor at FDIC.
JAMES E. INGLEDUE is a captain with the Virginia Beach (VA) Fire Department. He is a search team manager for VA-TF2 and chairs the search work group for FEMA. He is an IST member and teaches search courses around the country. He is a Nationally Registered Paramedic and a neonatal/pediatric critical care paramedic for the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters.
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