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Volunteers Aid in Rescue Efforts in Joplin

MOSAR (Missouri Search and Rescue K-9) assists in Joplin, Mo.
photo: Dan Verbeck/KCUR
MOSAR (Missouri Search and Rescue K-9) assists in Joplin, Mo.

By Dan Verbeck

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-970217.mp3

Joplin, Mo. – Missouri Governor Jay Nixon wants a second search of every collapsed building. But a city official says all FEMA requirements are being met, including double examinations of buildings. Relief work though has barely begun. Dan Verbeck is in Joplin and has this report.

More volunteers arrived overnight. Sixty-seven fire trucks from St. Louis, eleven firefighters from Kansas City, Kansas who came down on their own time. Among them is Captain Bryan Welch who worked in the tornado that ripped his city several years ago. He knows how hard it is for searchers to arrive too late to help someone trapped. "We train to do what we have to do...to make things better for those folks we're supposed to serve," says Welch.

Assistant City Manager Sam Anselm said early today he expects all searches for living and dead to be done by noon. And power restoration may take weeks.

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