Crime & Safety

Gwinnett Fire Dept. to Help Northwest GA Following Tornado

The team will help in the recovery efforts in Ringgold and Catoosa County.

Local firefighters are on their way to help those hit by Wednesday evening's tragic tornadoes in northwest Georgia. Members of the 's Technical Rescue Team (TRT) left from their base at Fire Station #24, across from the Mall of Georgia in Buford at around 11am Thursday and are headed to Ringgold in Catoosa County. The seven TRT members are specifically trained in the disciplines of cave-in rescue, collapse rescue, confines space rescue, high-angle rope rescue, and trench rescue.

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency requested the help of the TRT. The team does not yet know what their duty will once they arrive to Ringgold, where seven people have been confirmed dead and more than a dozen buildings destroyed. They may be used to relieve crews already on the scene to dispatched to other areas.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people in Alabama and in Northwest Georgia who have experienced the devastation and tremendous loss.  We want to do what we can to help support the rescue and recovery efforts of emergency responders and to assist people from the storm ravaged communities,” said Gwinnett Fire Captain Tommy Rutledge in a release.

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Members of the TRT also make up the GSAR-2 (Georgia Search And Rescue). They've previously assisted with the Atlanta Tornado and the tornado in Buford earlier this year.


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