Two Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS) Fire & Rescue Captains have returned to Las Vegas following a two-week disaster relief deployment to Florida with Nevada Task Force 1 supporting hurricane recovery operations. The task force provides Urban Search and Rescue personnel for National Urban Search and Rescue Response System recovery missions in the wake of catastrophic events that overwhelm local and state resources.
NNSS Capt. Bill Nixon and Capt. Robert Acevedo deployed the same day as their notification following Hurricane Helene and preceding Hurricane Milton. They landed in Atlanta October 8 and immediately drove to the Florida National Guard’s Camp Blanding Joint Training Center to unite with task forces from Colorado and New Jersey. The team then received assignments in Hillsborough County to support the coastal waterway regions surrounding Tampa.
“Everyone was super impressed with the fact that you have so many agencies working together, many for the first time, and see the cooperation so high and motivation to work incredibly high,” said Capt. Nixon, who has been a member of Nevada Task Force 1 for more than five years. “People stayed very motivated considering the circumstances.”
Capt. Nixon served as a hazmat team manager and Capt. Acevedo as a hazmat specialist, ensuring first responders’ and the public’s safety from hazardous material releases in the air or water. The hazmat team is responsible for the decontamination of personnel and assets in an affected zone — including Task Force members, K-9s, boats and vehicles — as contamination can mean exposure to industrial, household, medical and other hazardous or toxic waste.
“As part of what we do with hazmat, we get tied in to a squadron comprised of Search and Rescue,” said Capt. Acevedo, who has been a member of Nevada Task Force 1 for four years. “However, before they start any work, as hazmat, we have to go through and make sure the area is safe before they start working, with no toxins in the air or oxygen deficiencies, and then we monitor the atmosphere in the area they’re working in to ensure they don’t come across anything.”
The team also provided neighborhood structure assessments for more than 8,000 homes, conducting welfare checks and working with homeowners to take inventory of damages to report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Power to the region was out for over one week, including in the task force’s base camp at a Florida State Fairgrounds convention hall. Generators were brought in to operate mission-essential equipment.
Founded in 1993, Nevada Task Force 1 is one of 28 Urban Search & Rescue Task Forces instated by FEMA to provide support for large-scale disasters spanning the United States. Representation includes NNSS Fire & Rescue, City of Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, City of North Las Vegas Fire Department, City of Henderson Fire Department, Boulder City Fire Department and Clark County Fire Department. While members are cross trained in multiple disciplines, Nevada Task Force 1 draws upon each department’s specialized capabilities, as with the NNSS’ expertise in hazmat, to execute critical functions. A Type 1 response from Nevada, such as that required by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, entails the deployment of more than 80 team members and four dogs for 24-hour operations.
“Local agencies have their own hazmat teams, but when you deploy to another state, you can’t deplete all your hazmat resources,” said Capt. Nixon. “For us to give a few guys, it can really help offset the drain on the local resources. We all share the load, and when we all carry a piece of it, we’ll all get there. We have people who want to go help to give a hand — what it’s ultimately all about.”
