LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. — Federal special agents are in our backyard, training to respond to a natural or man-made disaster.
The Department of Homeland Security has 15 rapid response teams spread out across the county and on Tuesday, three of them were in southcentral Pennsylvania.
They're the people who show up before anyone else to search for people caught in disasters. The special agents are all part of Rapid Response Teams for Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security.
They're deployed to manmade or natural disasters within 12 to 24 hours and can operate for a few days without support.
"When we responded to hurricanes in Puerto Rico, we kind of had everyone in one spot. What they did is, they would take teams and package them up and say, 'Okay, you're going to this search and rescue team and someone else is going to be assigned to this search and rescue team,'" explained Assistant Special Agent Michael Conlon with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
HSI teams from Newark, New York and New England joined forces for a two-day training at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County.
"The idea is to get out there and do some training on search and rescue, aviation type operations, medical operations, land navigation and to get the teams working together in a real event," said Conlon.
They set up at the Combined Arms Collective Training Facility near the base. It's an area that looks and almost feels like a town, complete with a bank, bar and gas station.
Half of the trainees roll out to a helicopter landing location to retrieve medical supplies, while the rest search for survivors in town, marking each building as they go.
"As though they were supporting a FEMA rescue team, they may be asked to recover someone, do some first aid [or] some other rescue activity while they're here today," Conlon told FOX43.
Agents locate and help an 'injured' actor limp from a townhome while other team members return with supplies and first aid.
It's another completed simulation, preparing the trainees to tackle the worst when disaster strikes.