HANCOCK COUNTY — Some 70 firefighters from Indiana Task Force 1 (IN-TF1) are headed to Maui for search and rescue. Officials from Sugar Creek Township Fire Department (SCTFD) say they will be sending three members from their department. The IN-TF1 team received Urban Search and Rescue activation orders Tuesday and is working to find flights to Maui. No specific departure time has been set. Some 16 different fire departments from around the state will be sending IN-TF1 members with the three from SCTFD being the only department in the Hancock County sending people. Chief Brandon Kleine noted he’d prefer not to release the names of the three local firefighters from his department going until they’ve returned home safe and sound. Indiana Task Force 1 is one of 28 highly-trained U.S. urban search and rescue teams sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The death toll in Maui has reached 106 as of Wednesday morning.
