Two Ruston Fire captains have joined other area firefighters in deploying to south Louisiana to assist in search and rescue efforts due to Hurricane Francine.

Fire Captains CJ Tygart and Mitch Jones headed south as part of a northeast Louisiana rescue team Tuesday afternoon.

The Region 8 Urban Search and Rescue team is composed of firefighters from the Ruston, Monroe, West Monroe and Ouachita Parish fire departments.

USAR personnel like Tygart and Jones are under the coordination of the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office during such deployments.

The USAR team will handle swiftwater rescues. In addition to the two Ruston firefighters and a RFD boat, other members include four Monroe Fire members with two vehicles and one boat; Ouachita Parish Fire with six members, a command vehicle, 28-foot equipment trailer, three boats and staff vehicles; and West Monroe Fire with two members.

The team was scheduled to meet Tuesday evening with Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans fire personnel to conduct swiftwater operations as well as search and rescue as needed.

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