Youngstown firefighter named to elite rescue team

YOUNGSTOWN — Firefighter Jamie Goodlet has been appointed to Ohio Task Force 1, an elite rescue team.

Located at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio Task Force 1 is one of 28 urban search and rescue teams that cover the entire United States and can be deployed at a moment’s notice by FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The primary purpose of the team is to provide rescue to people involved in any natural or man-made disasters.

As a member of rescue division, Goodlet joins a group of highly trained individuals on the forefront of the national rescue response network. Since 1998, OHTF-1 has responded to many federal activations, including 9/11, hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the Xenia Tornado in 2000. Goodlet, 30, was hired by the Youngstown Fire Department in September 2004. He is assigned to the rescue squad at No. 1 station downtown.

Appointment to OHTF-1 requires highly sophisticated training in all aspects of rescue work. Requirements include rope rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, building collapse rescue, tower rescue, water rescue and heavy machinery extrication rescue. Goodlet began his training in 1999 and the application process for the task force in 2006.

There is no monetary compensation for task force activities unless the task force is activated by FEMA for response to an emergency. If there is a federal activation, the government will reimburse the Youngstown Fire Department for the time that Goodlet is deployed.

More information about the task force can be found online at www.ohtf1.com.