L.A. County Fire Department search-and-rescue team is ready to go to Haiti

A Los Angeles County Fire Department search-and-rescue team is packed and ready to go to Haiti after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the Caribbean island nation, officials said this morning.

The 72-member heavy rescue task force received a request for help Tuesday from the U.S. Agency for International Development and is waiting at a staging area in Pacoima while authorities finalize the logistical details of the deployment, said county fire inspector Frederic Stowers.

“These things do take time,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with surveying the damage, making sure we can get them in safely.”

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-- Alexandra Zavis

Photo gallery: Earthquake hits Haiti | Twitter: Reports from Haiti | Resources: How to help

Top photo: Equipment and supplies are being loaded on trucks at the Los Angeles County Fire Department urban search and rescue facility in Pacoima en route to Haiti in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times