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Indiana Task Force 1 back from Harvey, plans for Irma

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Six Indiana Task Force 1 members are assigned to help people in Hurricane Irma’s path.

The rest of the team is ready to head south if needed, including the 14 first responders who just got home from Texas Wednesday.

“I’m going to go home and do laundry,” Greenfield firefighter and Task Force 1 member Beth Haggard said.


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“I’m going go home and hug my fiancé and my kids,” Rescue Manager Scott Huff said. “Relax for a minute.”

Task Force 1 helped move more than 1,000 Texans out of flooded areas, Huff said.

The task force is made up of local first responders who go to national disasters. They are firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and moms and dads.

Haggard finally got to see her son Wednesday.

“I’m looking forward to going home, sleeping in my own bed, spending a little bit of time with him,” Haggard said.

“I don’t know how much time we’re going to be able to spend with each other before she goes,” Haggard’s son, Matt, said.

Haggard hasn’t been assigned to Hurricane Irma, but she’s packing a bag just in case.

A hazardous-materials team of four task force members were headed to Alabama on Thursday. Huff said two more team members will move from Texas to Tennessee, where they’ll be on standby.

“A lot of the guys on this deployment asked all the way home, ‘When do we get to go back out?’” Huff said. “So the rescue efforts are embedded into us and we’re always ready to help.”

Indiana Task Force 1 sent more than 20 people to Texas.

Their boots were still caked with Texas soil Wednesday. They just don’t look right when they’re clean.

“Honestly, if our team goes, I want to go out,” Haggard said.