VALDOSTA – The Georgia Search and Rescue team based in Valdosta was activated as storms began to hit South Georgia on January 22, and the team members and their equipment immediately became invaluable to assistance efforts.

“As soon as the tornadoes came through in Adel and Albany, they were just bashed,” said Special Operations Capt. Jeff Thibodeau. “We assembled a team to get on the truck. We actually were assembling the team as we were driving up there.”

That Sunday morning, the GSAR team left to respond to tornado damage in Adel and had to stop to cut down a tree blocking it’s path on Val Del Road, Thibodeau said.

As soon as they arrived in Adel, the team helped a man who was trapped under debris.

“When arrived we saw that we were dealing with some pretty significant damage,” Thibodeau said.

The GSAR equipment housed with the Valdosta Fire Department includes a federally-funded $1.3 million truck filled with emergency equipment. The team is staffed by 50 members from eight agencies.

The team and eguipment are available for use by other counties to respond to emergency situations.