2010 Media Releases

Date:

January 15, 2010

For More Information Contact:

Assistant Chief John Huff, LFR, 441-8351

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Lincoln Doctor On Way To Haiti As Part Of Fema Deployment

A member of Nebraska Task Force1(NETF-1), the Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) based at Lincoln Fire and Rescue (LFR), has been activated to respond to the disaster in Haiti. Dr. Ed Mlinek, an emergency physician at BryanLGH, is the Medical Team Manager for a 24-member Incident Support Team (IST). He is now on his way to Homestead Air Force Base in Florida and will be sent to Haiti from there. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has three ISTs, with members from across the country.

NETF-1 has not been deployed to Haiti. Assistant Fire Chief John Huff, the Program Manager for NETF-1, also serves on the IST that is being sent to Haiti, but he was not activated for this response. He said NETF-1 is not on stand-by status at this time, but he is in close contact with FEMA as operations in Haiti continue.

Four USAR task forces are now in Haiti - one each from Virginia and California and two from Florida. In addition to activating the IST on which Mlinek served, FEMA today mobilized six additional USAR teams - one each from Ohio, New York, Virginia and Texas and two from California.