DAVIE, Fla. – People in Florida know all too well how devastating and how much of a disruption to life hurricanes can be, which is why first responders and utility crews from South Florida are stepping up to help those in North and South Carolina as Hurricane Florence approaches.
Some of them left Tuesday morning from the Gulf Steam Service Center in Davie.
Meanwhile, 80 members from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s urban search and rescue team are on their way to Columbia, South Carolina, ahead of the storm.
"FEMA deploys us, and we respond when FEMA says go," Lt. Kirsten Miller said.
The group is bringing six boats and five search dogs trained in finding victims trapped in floodwaters and damaged buildings.
They pulled out of the parking lot of their headquarters in Doral Tuesday morning.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to save some lives," Miller said. "I think pretty much everybody that's behind me responded to at least one of the three hurricanes we had last year, so they are prepared."
The city of Miami also sent its urban search and rescue team early Tuesday. They left the Magic City for North Carolina, which is expected to bear the brunt of the storm.
Florida Power & Light is also mobilizing, sending utility trucks and 500 workers to Walterboro, South Carolina, to help restore power in case of an outage.
"It's essential to getting people's lives back to normal," FPL area manager Robert Gaddis said. "The biggest challenge I think with this one is going to be the amount of rainfall we're expecting, so flooded conditions, flooded roads make it very difficult to do the work."
As part of a mutual aid agreement, restoration workers from 30 states came to Florida last year to help restore power during Hurricane Irma.
"So this time around, of course, we're happy to assist our fellow utility partners in the Carolinas for Hurricane Florence," FPL spokeswoman Florencia Olivera said.
"It's a dangerous business, but we're prepared for the worst," Gaddis said.
The group is driving all the way and expected to arrive Tuesday night.
FPL officials said they're prepared to stay for two weeks, but they could stay up to a month or longer, depending on how long they are needed.