Redmond Fire Department (RFD) member Mike Waite of the Washington Disaster Medical Assistance Team (WA-1 DMAT) was deployed on Aug. 29 to a staging area in Dallas, Texas, in support of the response effort to Hurricane Harvey. The firefighter/paramedic has been assigned to help the residents of affected states with their medical needs, according to a City of Redmond press release.

Waite — who has been with RFD for 16 years and DMAT for three years as a paramedic — is expected to be with the team for at least two weeks and will work supporting field medical units that supplement local emergency response efforts. The DMAT teams are part of the National Disaster Medical Systems, which is one of the resources used by FEMA. The team is designed to be self-sufficient for 72 hours, including food and medicine. The WA-1 DMAT team is composed of physicians, paramedics, nurses and other allied medical staff.

“When disasters occur such as Hurricane Harvey, the nation’s emergency responders come together to help these distressed communities,” RFD Chief Tommy Smith stated. “This type of disaster could happen anywhere, and the type of experience and support provided by the DMAT and U.S. Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams are resources emergency managers depend on when local responders are overwhelmed. We are very proud that our Fire Department can offer this assistance to FEMA and those devastated communities in Texas and Louisiana.”