COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)–Ohio Task Force One members are home after days of heartbreaking work in Surfside, Florida.
Three weeks ago, the south Champlain Tower collapsed without warning in the middle of the night.
Bodies of 97 people have been recovered from the rubble. A local doctor, who was on that mission, said coming home is bittersweet.
“We know that some of the victims that we helped recover, won’t be going home to see their families. Their families won’t see them,” said Dr. Daniel Bachmann.
He said the mission was about helping families find closure. Bachmann serves as the Medical Team Manager for Ohio Task Force One.
“In many ways, there are not words to describe what that scene was and really the magnitude of that whole situation even photos and video still don’t do justice to what that was.”
Team members were welcomed back to the Buckeye State Thursday afternoon. Some spoke about the search and rescue work when they arrived in Dayton and related the mission to the search and rescue during 9/11.
“I spent the last two weeks discussing that incident with the team that was on the ground in Surfside,” said TFL Jack Reall during the welcome home ceremony. “A lot of comparisons there, a lot of mental stress, a lot of emotional impact, and a lot of physical strain.”
Reall said it was important to share what they experienced, and Bachmann agreed.
“This really was historic in a lot of ways not necessarily in great ways, but it will define some of the work we do going forward.”
Bachmann said he’s glad to be back home with his loved ones and was thankful for the community support while he and his fellow task force members served.
“What we did, we were challenging in many ways it was physically demanding it was emotionally draining but we did it with the support of a lot of people behind us,” Bachmann said.
Bachman explained it will take time to adjust to being back and he will soon return to his job as an emergency physician at OSU Wexner Medical Center.