LYNCHBURG, Va. (WFXR) – Nine members of the Lynchburg Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue team have been deployed to the Southwest Virginia region ahead of expected flooding from rain and snowmelt.
After a request from Governor Glenn Youngkin, the nine members of the Urban Search and Rescue team left the Lynchburg area on the morning of Tuesday, February 11. Flooding and other issues over the coming days are expected to impact the Wytheville area. That is where the team will be located until further deployment orders are given during an emergency.
Lynchburg city officials said technical rescue teams from the city and across the region, as well as the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) “can be deployed to assist other localities in times of natural disasters and other emergencies.”
“Deployments of this type are part of what it means to be a first responder in the Commonwealth of Virginia. When one part of the state needs assistance, the rest of us are there to help,” said Lynchburg Fire Chief Greg Wormser. “Our search and rescue teams are highly trained and are ready for just this kind of emergency.”
Wormser said this deployment will have no impact on local services as there is still adequate staffing in the event of local emergencies in the City of Lynchburg.