Edhat Staff
Source: Santa Barbara County Fire Department
Santa Barbara County Engineer/Paramedic (ENG/PM) Eric Gray and his Search Dog Riley are being deployed to Puerto Rico following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.
ENG/PM Gray and Riley are responding to the disaster with California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2), part of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. CA-TF2 consists of 57 specialized personnel, specifically trained in Urban Search and Rescue (USAR). Along with the specialized personnel, the Task Force brings all necessary equipment to make live rescues from collapsed structures and confined spaces.
Engineer/Paramedic Gray and Riley were partnered in October of 2009. Riley was presented to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department through the generosity of the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation located in Ojai. Riley, a pure bred yellow Labrador Retriever, is a live scent disaster search canine whose job is to assist USAR personnel in determining the presence of live people trapped in rubble following a man- made or natural disaster. Past notable deployments for Gray and Riley have included the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, and the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
USAR CA-TF2 is a FEMA USAR Task Force based in Los Angeles County, California, and is sponsored by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. CA-TF2 is one of two Task Forces that works with the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID DART) to provide national and international response to natural and man-made disasters.
