First responders endure emotional toll of Surfside condo collapse: "It's heartbreaking"
CBSN
Sifting through the rubble in search of victims of the Surfside condo collapse is dangerous work — but it's also taking an emotional toll on first responders. One of those responders is Scott Dean, a Miami Urban Search and Rescue team leader who has labored at the pile since day one.
"It's heartbreaking," he told CBS News. "It's a terrible event and we're trying to cope with it and deal with it and get through with it." Search and rescue teams have worked 12-hour shifts for two weeks in rain, high winds, heat and humidity. At least 79 people have been confirmed dead, officials said Friday evening. More than 60 people are still missing.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.