Jan. 15 - Fraternal Order of Leatherheads Society members are among the search and rescue personnel the U.S. dispatched to help in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti on Tuesday, Jan. 12.

Among the 11 teams activated to date for the mission are the Fairfax County (Va.) Urban Search and Rescue Team (Virginia Task Force 1), Los Angeles County (Calif.) Search and Rescue Team (California Task Force 2, Florida Task Force 1 (Miami-Dade), Texas Task Force 1 (College Station), New York Task Force 1 (Brooklyn), Ohio Task Force 1 (Columbus), Virginia Task Force 2 (Virginia Beach), California Task Force 5 (Orange Co.) and the California Task Force 7 (Sacramento).

Task Force teams are usually comprised of between 72 and 80 members as well as search and rescue canines. They are typically made up of emergency and medical personnel, haz-mat specialists, structural engineers, and heavy equipment operators. Teams are self-sufficient for up to 14 days.

The quake measured 7.0 on the Richter scale and caused significant damage to the impoverished nation's infrastructure. Homes, government buildings, hospitals and schools were among the structures flattened by the massive tremor. The Red Cross currently estimates between 45,000-50,000 people are feared dead, with more than 3 million affected by the earthquake overall.

“Our hearts go out to the Haitian people as they deal with this unimagineable tragedy,” said FOOLS President Eric DePoto. “We know that our fellow FOOLS and the other task force team members are facing huge challenges with the widespread devastation, but this is what they are trained to do and we wish them well in their mission.”