SURFSIDE, Fla. – During the early days of the search and rescue operation following the Surfside condo collapse, reports began surfacing of the working conditions of search and rescue teams as they worked long hours and were so devoted to their operation — many of them skipping meals all together in order to focus on their grueling mission.
Soon after, volunteers and communities all across South Florida came together to offer their support, including local restaurants and South Florida residents who donated thousands meals to the crews.
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This is why exactly three weeks after that tragic day, Miami-Dade’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force-1 and Task Force-2, who have been on the ground since day one, were treated to a well-deserved Italian lunch by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Major Food Group’s Jeff Zalaznick of Carbone Miami.
DeSantis and Zalaznick collaborated with Lieutenant Governor of Florida Jeanette Núñez, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, and owner of the Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences at The Surf Club, Nadim Ashi, to make the delicious meal happen.
At the lunch, which took place at the Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club’s Lida Restaurant, task force members and other Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel who bravely risked their lives throughout their mission were treated to several Carbone menu staples, including the Spicy Rigatoni, Cesar alla ZZ, and Veal Parmesan.
The lunch fed more than 100 emergency responders from Miami-Dade’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces.
Since the task force’s inception in the 1980s, the search and rescue team has been dispatched to natural and man-made disasters in the U.S. and across the world to help comb through rubble, save lives and locate missing persons. The team is divided into groups including command, rescue, search, medical, and planning, and have been on-site in Surfside since Thursday, June 24.