Indiana Task Force 1 returns from after month-long deployment INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana Task Force 1 rolled into Indianapolis Tuesday afternoon, nearly three weeks after deploying to North Carolina and Florida to handle hurricane rescue and recovery efforts. INTF-1 is a coalition of firefighters and first responders from around Indiana that respond to natural disasters. Lindsay Mullis was waiting patiently for her husband, a Columbus firefighter, to get home after leaving with 85 others on Sept. 23. She says her two boys were anxious to see their dad. “They were upset about it because he had been deployed a few years ago because of the Kentucky floods, so my five-year-old knew daddy could be deployed for a couple weeks,” she said. The task force was originally sent to the Big Bend section of Florida last month to deal with Hurricane Helene. Then, they headed western North Carolina after the storm did significant damage there. INFT-1 Chief Jay Settergren said Helene caused severe flooding and mudslides: “They received over 34, 35 inches of rain up where we were working in McDowell County, and it took all the houses it took everything. There was nothing left.” Rescue dogs helped combed through storm debris as crews searched for people still missing in rural areas west of Asheville. Then, INTF-1 returned to Florida shortly before Hurricane Milton made landfall south of Sarasota on Oct. 9. “The flooding seemed to be more prevalent, and I think the reason being is that this is the second hurricane to go through the area in less than two weeks really saturated, even Florida,” said Settergren. As weary first responders returned their gear and debriefed, Settergren wants to make sure the work they did was not in vain. He said misinformation being spread about the storms and the government’s response to them is a slap in the face to the victims. “There are no houses left for people to go back and get their things from. They are missing loved ones that they are still looking for today,” he said. PREVIOUS COVERAGE Indiana Task Force 1 returning home from hurricane relief efforts Indiana Task Force 1 gives update on work in North Carolina following Helene Indiana Task Force 1 member: What happened in North Carolina is catastrophic Hoosiers hunker down in Florida during Hurricane Milton