The Vermont Urban Search and Rescue team returned home to Colchester on Thursday after 17 intense days spent rescuing and recovering people in Florida and North Carolina. "Still processing everything that we saw. It was not glorious work by any means, but we got a lot of work. A lot of work accomplished. And we brought a lot of good closure home for some families," said Tyler Cootware, the K9 Specialist with the task force. Jennifer Morrison, The Commissioner of The Vermont Department of Public Safety along with the team's family members along welcomed them home. She commended the only 21-person team and their K9 - Sniper - for their work in Florida and North Carolina after Hurricane Helene."It has been a very difficult and heartbreaking deployment for them, but their impact was immeasurable to the people," Morrison said. In North Carolina, officials said the team helped recover 11 people of a local first responder's family."And they were really regarded as leaders in that recovery mission. And they did eventually collectively find the remains of all 11 family members that they had been looking for. So that was, I guess, a sad success," she said. Mike Cannon, the team's leader, said he had never seen devastation like this and that the team's mental wellness was always a priority."We did a lot of good work with what we had. We were noted by FEMA for doing a really good job there, which is nice to hear when you only have 22 people versus a 90-person large team. They are a force to be reckoned with is the best way to put it. And I really am proud of what they did. I mean, I run the team, but these folks make us all look good," he said. Cootware said he was grateful for the companionship of his K9, Sniper, and that other volunteers appreciated sniper's presence as well."He flipped the switch into therapy dog mode really, really well. And he would just lay down and everybody would kind of hang out, pet him. And that was like the most impactful thing for me as everybody thanked me for having the dog there. And I think that was a really impressive that he was able to kind of flip the switch of from working Dog to these people need me in a different way now," he said. The team also commended the other crews they worked with. They said being from Vermont only increased the drive to help other small communities, no matter where they are.
The Vermont Urban Search and Rescue team returned home to Colchester on Thursday after 17 intense days spent rescuing and recovering people in Florida and North Carolina.
"Still processing everything that we saw. It was not glorious work by any means, but we got a lot of work. A lot of work accomplished. And we brought a lot of good closure home for some families," said Tyler Cootware, the K9 Specialist with the task force.
Jennifer Morrison, The Commissioner of The Vermont Department of Public Safety along with the team's family members along welcomed them home. She commended the only 21-person team and their K9 - Sniper - for their work in Florida and North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.
"It has been a very difficult and heartbreaking deployment for them, but their impact was immeasurable to the people," Morrison said.
In North Carolina, officials said the team helped recover 11 people of a local first responder's family.
"And they were really regarded as leaders in that recovery mission. And they did eventually collectively find the remains of all 11 family members that they had been looking for. So that was, I guess, a sad success," she said.
Mike Cannon, the team's leader, said he had never seen devastation like this and that the team's mental wellness was always a priority.
"We did a lot of good work with what we had. We were noted by FEMA for doing a really good job there, which is nice to hear when you only have 22 people versus a 90-person large team. They are a force to be reckoned with is the best way to put it. And I really am proud of what they did. I mean, I run the team, but these folks make us all look good," he said.
Cootware said he was grateful for the companionship of his K9, Sniper, and that other volunteers appreciated sniper's presence as well.
"He flipped the switch into therapy dog mode really, really well. And he would just lay down and everybody would kind of hang out, pet him. And that was like the most impactful thing for me as everybody thanked me for having the dog there. And I think that was a really impressive that he was able to kind of flip the switch of from working Dog to these people need me in a different way now," he said.
The team also commended the other crews they worked with. They said being from Vermont only increased the drive to help other small communities, no matter where they are.