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Louisiana firefighters stage in Florida for hurricane relief

MARIANNA, Fla. (WMBB) — Dozens of Louisiana firefighters arrived in Jackson County this weekend, ready to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

The Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal, responding to a request for assistance from Florida, is staging four teams at Chipola College.

“You’ll see firemen here from Shreveport, Baton Rouge, Monroe, Alexandria,” Assistant Chief Bob Wolfe said. “This is the closest we could get but still be out of harms way so as soon as the storm clears through here, we’ll probably be dispatched down before people try to get back in.”

During their 14-day deployment to Florida, the State Emergency Operations Center will dispatch the teams to different areas of the state.

“Our specialty deals with anything from a collapsed building or collapsed structure to people trapped in those type situations to swift water rescue. We also do search and recovery,” Wolfe said.

Local law enforcement escorted the mobile command vehicles and equipments through Marianna Saturday night. By the end of the weekend, Wolfe said about 55 firefighters will be staged at Chipola.