After a 19-day deployment to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, seven team members from the Riverside Fire Department's Canine Search Mission Ready Package received a warm welcome back home Tuesday.
Members of the Riverside Fire Department welcomed back their colleagues, both two-legged and four-legged, in an evening ceremony held at the City of Riverside Fire Department. The search team manager and logistics personnel beamed as their colleagues and family clapped and cheered.
The team was deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts in response to the devastation of Category 4 Hurricane Maria, which swept across Puerto Rico Sept. 20.
The island is still in a state of recovery as people continue to rebuild and gather resources including food, water and electricity. The devastating hurricane claimed 16 lives.
