Political Quotes

“I rise today to commend the efforts of Virginia Task Forces One and Two on their recent deployment to Haiti. Their combined efforts in the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquake resulted in the successful rescue of 19 men, women, and children. These teams are made up of over 150 firefighters, physicians, and structural engineers from Fairfax and Virginia Beach, VA. Both teams were manned and ready within 24 hours of the call for help. That included preparing and staging over 100 tons of cargo and gear for airlift to Haiti. One of the rescues involved Jens Christensen, a United Nations worker from Denmark who was trapped in the United Nations compound. The teams worked for over 8 hours to free him, and kept him alive by inserting a feeding tube through the rubble to provide him water during the rescue. Acting on a tip from local residents, the team also rescued two children, "Kiki and Sabrina," almost a full week after the earthquake. These two Haitian girls were still alive in a building no one had previously searched. Another woman was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed market, and the team was able to provide paramedics and physicians to treat her on site and stabilize the woman for transport to a local hospital. These teams leveraged their countless hours of training to hit the ground running at full speed.”