By Greg Sleter
As a member of New York Task Force, a search and rescue team comprised of specially-trained New York City Firefights and Police Officers, Joseph Downey recently spent eight days in Haiti as part of the effort to find survivors of the earthquake that left much of the Caribbean island nation in ruins.
Downey, a 25-year member of the NYFD who serves as a battalion chief and is stationed on Roosevelt Island, and his team grabbed the headlines in January as they were able to rescue two Haitian siblings who were trapped in the rubble of a damaged building for eight days. “There were some good moments, but not as many as we would like,” Downey told WestIslipTribune.com of his time in Haiti. “We were involved in rescuing six people overall. What was interesting is that this was the first time in the 20 year existence of the Task Force that we were able to rescue people.”
As Downey and his team of 80 readied for their mission to Haiti, he said there was no way to prepare for what they were about to encounter. With nearly all structures severely damaged and tens of thousands believed dead, Downey knew the task facing the team was going to be highly difficult.
“We have standard procedures for when we are sent into a disaster area,” he explained. “With our total team is deployed, we bring enough supplies (such as food and water) to allow us to be self-sufficient for 72 hours. But seeing the devastation on TV, we brought with us enough supplies to last up to seven days.”
In addition to food and water, Downey said the Task Force was also equipped with basic living quarters, shower and bathroom facilities and a water filtration system that allowed the team to properly purify water it for drinking and other uses. The Task Force was transported to Haiti on two C-17 aircraft, with one plane carrying some team members and 11 palettes of supplies, and the other also carrying team members, three palettes of supplies and six vehicles.
While Downey and Task Force members had been watching news coverage of the earthquake in the days leading up to their mission, team members received a taste of the devastation upon arriving at the airport. “When we landed, we could see the main building there was severely damaged and looking like it was about to come down,” he recalled. “When we left the airport and headed out into Haiti, we saw hundreds of people along the streets next to the fallen buildings.”
The first mission for the New York Task Force was at a destroyed supermarket, where they team made headlines here in the states by locating and rescuing siblings Sabrina, 10, and Kiki, 8, who were trapped in the rubble for eight days. It was the image of Kiki raising his hands in a victory pose after being rescued that was flashed on TV and in other print and Internet-based news outlets across the United States.
“It was a very rewarding way to start our mission,” Downey added.
But he noted that there was also many other Haitians that were no so fortunate. “We were there on a rescue mission and we saw many dead, but there was not a place set up to take the bodies,” he explained.
The Task Force that Downey is a member of was founded by his father Ray — who lost his life in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York — following the Loma Prieta earthquake that devastated the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989. “After that earthquake, the government realized the country did not have a heavy rescue component, and they reached out to my father to help establish them,” he said. “This mission [to Haiti] was like seeing my dad’s vision playing out 20 years later.”
After spending eight days in Haiti, Downey and his Task Force team remembers returned to New York, which for Downey meant his job as a New York City Firefighter and home life in West Islip with his wife, Lynn, and their three children. That transition can be potentially difficult for some.
“When we return there is a requirement that each of us go through full medical and counseling sessions,” he said. “But it is important for each of us to separate what we do at work and what we do at home. My dad was killed on 9/11 and if I kept taking that around with me I would not be able to lead a successful life. Most of us have seen a lot of death but we just need to go on. But for those that do have some trouble dealing with it, the fire department will help them.”
Downey also admitted that he and his fellow Task Force members are also uncomfortable with being viewed as heroes. “This is our job and what we train for,” he said. “But I guess the good thing out of all the media coverage is that our team and other similar teams get some attention and more people understand the importance of our existence and what we do.”
Editor's Note: Joseph Downey will be honored by the West Islip Summit Coalition as part of a Haitian benefit the eventing of February 25 at St. John The Baptist High School. Suggested donation is $5 per person.
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