DC plane crash; Milwaukee Fire Department, local disasters | FOX6 Milwaukee

DC plane crash; Milwaukee Fire Department, local disasters

There was a massive recovery effort underway as first responders searched the Potomac River.

What we know:

All 67 people aboard the American Airlines jet and Army helicopter are dead after they collided midair over Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C.

It's the type of situation the Milwaukee Fire Department trains for. In fact, members of the dive team have responded to aviation disasters in the Milwaukee area.

Local perspective:

John Zaworski is the assistant director of the MFD Dive Rescue Team.

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"There’s a lot of moving parts to that," Zaworski said. "Not only do you have the hazards of being subsurface, but you have the hazards of twisted metal and shrapnel and everything in between."

In 2013, he was one of the first divers on the scene when a single engine plane crashed into Lake Michigan. Two people died.

"We found the plane, deployed the buoy and other divers came down and recovered the victims," he said.

Zaworski said rescues involve a lot of manpower with local, county, state and federal responses.

The MFD Dive Rescue Team is the fire department’s busiest specialized team, made up of 50 people.

What they're saying:

Deputy Chief Ron Finrohr spent 28 years with the dive team. He was part of the recovery effort when a jet crashed shortly after taking off from Mitchell Airport. A medical transplant team and pilots died in the crash.

"You’re in the rivers, the lagoons, the lake at any time of year," Finrohr said. "The primary goal is determine the last seen point."

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While the disasters have been smaller in Milwaukee, the team said it’s ready for whatever happens.

The Source: The Milwaukee Fire Department

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