By Scott Martindale
Orange County Register
OFUNATO, Japan — An Orange County firefighter/paramedic looking for survivors buried under rubble and debris in northern Japan said rain and snow have not stopped his mission.
Gary Durian, a Yorba Linda resident who works for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, is one of six canine handlers working in Ofunato on the northeastern coast of Japan as part of a Los Angeles-based search-and-rescue team. He spoke to the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation on Wednesday.
“It rained Tuesday, snowed all night, and is still snowing,” he said. “Space heaters in the gym are helping to keep the Task Force personnel and the dogs warm when they’re not out searching. We are ‘delayering’ an area - Task Force members remove a layer of debris after it is searched and then we work the next layer. ...
“The devastation from the tsunami is just unbelievable. The dogs are searching well and all their training has definitely paid off.”
Durian and his 61/2-year-old dog, Baxter, will spend an indefinite amount of time in Japan.
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