Six Manatee County firefighters deployed to the Florida Panhandle on Sunday, Oct. 11, to help Escambia County recover from Hurricane Isaias, which struck the region as a Category 2 storm Friday night.

Four West Manatee Fire Rescue personnel departed around 2:30 a.m. as part of Structural Task Force 3601, the Pulse of Manatee reported.

The team includes Lt. Andrew Powers and firefighters Max Pollock, Jerrod Apple and Casey Fischbach.

Two additional firefighters, Lt. Andrew Lauricella and Robert Haygood, joined the response aboard North River Fire Rescue's Water Tender 534. The specialized vehicle carries large quantities of water to locations where hydrants or municipal water supplies may be unavailable.

Local firefighters answer another mutual-aid call

The deployment marks the second time in two months that West Manatee Fire Rescue and North River Fire Rescue have participated in a mutual-aid response.

In September, personnel from the two agencies deployed to the Ross Fire in North Texas.

"Major disasters require resources from well beyond the community where they occur," West Manatee Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski said during the September deployment. "Today Florida firefighters are answering the call in Texas; tomorrow it could be Florida that needs assistance."

The latest deployment followed Hurricane Isaias' landfall near Destin around 9:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Wind gusts reached 116 mph near Santa Rosa Sound and 100 mph near Pensacola.

At least two deaths were reported in Escambia County, according to CNN. More than 450,000 power outages were reported across five Panhandle counties, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

Escambia County requested additional rescue vehicles, vessels and personnel equipped for water and land-based rescues.

County emergency officials reported that Escambia County EMS and Fire Rescue responded to more than 200 emergency calls within two hours of resuming operations after the storm.

Manatee medical and Salvation Army teams join response

The Florida Department of Health also deployed an AmbuBus from Manatee County on Saturday, Oct. 10, to assist with patient transportation in storm-affected communities.

The specialized vehicle can transport multiple patients during evacuations and other large-scale emergencies, according to the state's emergency response update.

Separately, three Salvation Army of Manatee County volunteers traveled to the Panhandle to provide meals, drinking water and emotional support to residents and emergency workers.

Renee Smith, Thomas Costantini and Frank Rodriguez formed what the organization described as Bradenton's first canteen team deployment for the Isaias response, the Pulse of Manatee reported.

The volunteers are supporting disaster relief operations as emergency crews continue responding to damaged infrastructure and communities affected by the hurricane.

No return date has been announced for the deployed firefighters.