Indiana Task Force 1 is preparing for deployment to Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton. IFD Battalion Chief Rita Reith said the team will relocate to an area outside of the hurricane "cone" and prepare for deployment to the areas as needed once the storm passes through. The team of 80 central Indiana first responders was deployed to the state in late September ahead of Hurricane Helene, and spent days helping in the aftermath of the devastating storm. IN-TF1 was then relocated to North Carolina, assisting in the aftermath of Helene there. The group is one of the 28 "highly trained" Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-sponsored Urban Search and Rescue teams in the U.S., according the Government of Indianapolis. Reith said the team remains in "good spirits" and they are "healthy and prepared" for their new assignment. The team wrote in an early October social media post that it was "navigating challenging and uneven rural terrain to assist local and state agencies in ensuring the safety and whereabouts of the community members in this Appalachian region." https://www.wthr.com/article/weather/severe-weather/hurricane-milton-florida-indiana-task-force-one-intf1-first-responders-assistance/531-406a6555-b816-410e-86a9-6328b6cbaf1a