Contrary to all the media reports that it took the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) five or six days to reach New Orleans after the devastating Hurricane Katrina, Tennessee Task Force One (TN-TF 1), the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team sponsored by the 1,800-member Memphis Fire Department, was in the waters of New Orleans conducting rescues within hours of the levees breaking.

TN-TF 1 is one of 28 federal USAR teams located across the country and is made up of not only Memphis firefighters but other firefighters, medical personnel and specialists from the Memphis area. The Tennessee team has been pressed into service many times in its 10-year history, including the Pentagon on 9/11, the space shuttle disaster and numerous hurricanes. The team was deployed three times in 30 days for Hurricanes Katrina and Ophelia, and later was located in Lake Charles, LA, for Hurricane Rita.

TN-TF 1 was notified by FEMA and deployed on Saturday, Aug. 27, two days before Hurricane Katrina roared ashore. By 5 o'clock Sunday morning, they had reached their initial staging area, out of harm's way in Shreveport, LA. On Sunday, members of the team watched news accounts as Hurricane Katrina reached Category 5 status.

On Monday, FEMA moved TN-TF 1 and task forces from Missouri and Texas to Baton Rouge, LA, after the storm had moved through. As they arrived, Katrina was still wreaking havoc on southern Mississippi. At the rally point, the Louisiana State University fire training academy in Baton Rouge, task force leaders and members of the Incident Support Team from FEMA to put together their strategy.

After the strategy was devised, the first three FEMA vehicles with USAR team members made their way into New Orleans. The three FEMA vehicles were provided with an escort and as they made their way through the suburbs of New Orleans, they saw what had not been yet reported by any of the cable TV networks. The damage was far-reaching, although initial reports on TV reported the New Orleans area had escaped the worst of the storm. As the team entered the city, it was met with road blockages, looters and building fires that were burning unattended. At one point, the convoy was halted and sent to a secure staging area while the Louisiana State Police chased looters who had shot at them.

On the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 30, the team had little knowledge that it would be the first of federal assets into the waters of New Orleans to conduct rescues for what would turn out to be the largest natural disaster and rescue mission in the continental United States.