Governor Bush Visits Staging Areas for First Responders

--Governor expresses gratitude to State’s first responders--

TALLAHASSEE—Governor Jeb Bush today visited staging areas for the Florida National Guard and the State’s unified search and rescue command. The Governor expressed the State’s gratitude to our first responders who are on their way to assist panhandle residents impacted by Hurricane Dennis.

“Our first responders brave the elements to ensure Floridians receive help at their times of greatest need,” said Governor Jeb Bush. “I am proud of these brave men and women who are poised to help the residents of Northwest Florida during this very difficult time.”

The Florida National Guard is deploying 2600 troops in response to the landfall of Hurricane Dennis. The Governor visited nearly a thousand troops from the 2nd & 3rd Battallion of the 265th Air Defense Artillery out of Boca Raton and Sarasota this evening. The troops were staging in Tallahassee for deployment this evening to Crestview, where they will be dispatched to areas damaged by Hurricane Dennis.

The Governor also visited the staging area for the State’s unified command for search and rescue. The group, comprised of units from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the State Fire Marshall’s office and the Department of Agriculture, uses specialized equipment to reach citizens in remote areas and where infrastructure has been heavily damaged. The units were staged in Tallahassee for deployment this evening. More than 200 units will be mobilizing this evening to assist those in need in the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Dennis.

For more information, please visit http://www.floridadisaster.org

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