OGDEN — Five firefighters from the Ogden City Fire Department are assisting the disaster management and recovery efforts in the southeastern United States amid the devastation of Hurricane Helene.

As part of Utah Task Force 1’s two- to three-week deployment, the Ogden contingent joins firefighters from departments in Park City, Provo, Salt Lake City, South Jordan, West Jordan and West Valley City, as well as Unified Fire.

Deputy Chief Shelby Willis of Ogden Fire told the Standard-Examiner that the task force arrived in Tennessee on Sunday and that it will be deployed to North Carolina on Tuesday.

“To be able to join Task Force 1 for the State of Utah, it’s an incredible privilege for Ogden Fire to be able to do that,” Wills said. “It means a lot to our employees. They have trained throughout their careers … and now they get to use it on a whole different level. They get to use it in a time of a disaster and help citizens in need.”

Firefighters will be performing a variety of tasks during their deployment depending on their areas of expertise. Disciplines include things like search and rescue, medical, logistics and HAZMAT.

There are 12 total individuals working within the department who also serve on Utah Task Force 1, per Willis.

“They have mandatory training that they have to comply with just to initially be accepted on the team and, then, on an annual basis,” Willis said.

“They actually have to do swim tests. They have to meet and do what they call a logistical review — they make sure that they have all of the resources, the clothes, the accessories they need if they get deployed.”

Willis added that members have just two hours to report to their staging area upon deployment.

Per a CNN tally, the death toll from Hurricane Helene across the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia had reached more than 140 as of Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, hundreds of others remained unaccounted for and some 1.5 million were without power.