Rowan helicopter unit helps with Hanna

SALISBURY, N.C. -- Two Black Hawk helicopters could be launched from a N.C. National Guard base in Rowan County this weekend as a specially-equipped rescue team prepares for Tropical Storm Hanna.

The Helo-Aquatic Rescue Team can reach the coast in less than two hours, said Guard spokesman Sgt. Brian Christiansen.

Three members of the Charlotte Fire Department are among the dozen crewmembers who could be deployed as early as 6 a.m. Saturday.

“We will go in and solve the problem as we find it,” said Tim Rogers, a Charlotte Fire Department Battalion Chief who has flown in 19 rescue missions since the team was first organized in 2004.

The rescue team has hundreds of hours of training, including instruction from crews who helped remove flood victims from rooftops in Hurricane Katrina.

The N.C. unit was credited with saving more than a dozen people in 2004 when heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan resulted in widespread flooding in the western region of the state.