The Riverside City Fire Department Saturday is deploying a 27-person team of specialized emergency personnel to assist the search and rescue efforts in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.
The Urban Search and Rescue Team Task Force Six will depart at 8 p.m. from March Air Reserve Base on a C5 cargo plane along with several other teams, according to a news release.
Crew members include a logistics specialist, rescue specialist, K9s, medical personnel, a hazmat specialist and communications support, said Training Captain Dave McClellan. The team is led by Division Chief Steve McKinster.
"The team members are the best of the best and have trained many years for such a deployment," McClellan said.
Earlier today, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello called Hurricane Maria, which made landfall Wednesday morning, the worst catastrophe in island history. It left large swaths of the territory underwater and without power or cellular service.
At least seven people have died, according to news reports.
