Nearly two weeks after a deadly tornado touched down in the seat of Charles County, Maryland, DC Fire/EMS experts remain on the scene helping officials maintain safe operations around the disaster sites.

"We divided the town into five areas of responsibility," said Battalion Fire Chief for Special Operations Michael Sellitto, who commanded operations in an area West of Rt. 301 and worked with regional support crews ensuring rescue and clean-up crews did their work in the safest possible environment.

Two hours after the F-4 tornado ripped through the community April 28th, DC units were rolling to the scene. A Cave-In Task Force, under the direction of Battalion Fire Chief Phil Pestone, was dispatched to augment county and state rescue teams already on the ground. DC Fire/EMS personnel conducted searches of scores of collapsed buildings in conditions one official likened to "a war zone." Hundreds of homes were destroyed, and dozens of commercial buildings were flattened. Two people in Charles County and two in Calvert County died from the twister. More than 100 were hurt.

"Just as during the attack on the Pentagon, our emergency workers and communities came together to cope with unimaginable tragedy," said DC Fire/EMS Chief Ronnie Few. "We see how close we really are, and we realize how much we need each other, especially now."