Three Search Teams deployed to construction crane collapse in Dallas, TX

Three Search Teams deployed to construction crane collapse in Dallas, TX

On Sunday, June 9, just after 2 p.m. local time, a construction crane collapsed into an occupied apartment building in Dallas, TX amid a thunderstorm that produced strong winds and hail throughout the area. Three SDF-trained canine disaster search teams were called upon to search the building for anyone trapped in the rubble: Derek Chaky & Scout (Carrollton Fire), Robert Grant & Rocky (Plano Fire), and Patti Krafft & Billy (Dallas Fire-Rescue).

After the crane was blown over in high gusts, it damaged several apartments and caused a "pancake" collapse of the building - meaning each floor fell flatly down to the one below it. The canine teams searched the first through fifth floors of the apartment building as well as the adjacent parking garage:

"Because of structural and safety concerns, only the canines were able to access and search the parking garage. The canines did a great job throughout their time at the incident. They accessed apartments and searched the portions of them that were still intact. The parking garage was tricky but Rocky got in there and searched as much as possible around the cars at the bottom of the collapse and Billy and Scout searched in and around vehicles in the upper portion of the collapse." - Patti Krafft, handler of Search Dog Billy

Handler Derek Chaky reported that this incident was a little different for the teams, meaning they had to use their experience and skills to navigate some challenging search scenarios.

"Here in Dallas, we are fortunate to be able to do a lot of search training of abandoned buildings in preparation for deployments like this one. But this was an experience made unique by the additional flooding of the lower level apartments, as well as the number of people's pets left at home, which we were able to help bring to safety thanks to the assistance of the Dallas Police Department. We were on the scene within an hour of the call coming in and Search Dogs Scout, Billy and Rocky did a great job of searching the apartment building and parking garage for people trapped, all the while ignoring food and toys as they floated by. As usual, I am very proud of my canine partner's performance!"

Sadly, local authorities have confirmed one fatality and several injuries related to the crane collapse. Though we take comfort in knowing our teams deployed quickly and searched the area efficiently, leaving no one behind alive, our thoughts are with the family of those affected by this incident. We also send our thanks to all the rescuers, two- and four-legged for answering the call for help when others needed them most.

All photos in this post courtesy of Watson Kohankie, Carrollton Fire Department.