By Yudy Pineiro
The Miami Herald

MIAMI-DADE, Fla. — Whatever career she chose, Hilda Wood always knew it would have to include animals.

It's that passion for animals that had her considering veterinary school, but when she learned she could save lives and deal with animals she became a firefighter, quickly earning her certification to train and handle urban search and rescue dogs.

"I love my firefighting career, but especially the animals," said Wood, a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighter who lives on the border of Kendall and works at a Redland station.

Now, about 15 years since she began her career, Wood is being recognized by the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association for her ongoing commitment as a canine handler for Florida Task Force One, a FEMA-certified urban search and rescue team.

Wood, who receives the 2007 Search and Rescue Responder of the Year Award at a Jacksonville ceremony Thursday, Jan. 24, said she felt honored but couldn't have done it alone.

"I wouldn't be where I'm at without the support of my program manager," she said. "Without the fire department and canine task force, none of this would have happened."

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Perry nominated Wood, who works out of Station 60 in the Redland and currently handles three dogs -- Flash, Fargo and Ranger -- that can search for missing people by land and sea. One of her dogs also detects human remains.

According to Perry, Wood is the only canine handler in Florida Task Force One history to certify four search and rescue canine teams and a canine that detects human remains to advanced levels. Wood has also been named a canine mentor, which means she can work with any of the 28 federal search and rescue task forces.

Besides training dogs, Wood also helps train multiple canine handlers across the nation. Some trainees have received state and federal canine disaster team certifications.

Throughout her career, Wood said she has been deployed to disaster zones around the world, including Colombia and Turkey. Most recently, she responded with the task force in the aftermath of Hurricanes Ivan, Dennis, Frances and Katrina.

"Each of these missions poses a unique challenge and Firefighter Wood always rises to the challenge," Perry wrote in his nomination letter.

Following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, when many of FEMA's Urban Search and Rescue teams were deployed twice for the first time in history, Perry said Wood was among the first to quickly agree to a second tour -- just days after returning from an 11-day mission. On her return, Wood and the task force helped search more than 20,000 structures for 13 days.

"In all, Firefighter Wood was deployed for 24 days to New Orleans, which shows her dedication and professionalism in the time of crisis," Perry wrote.

A canine handler's job is not one to be taken lightly, Wood said.

"The responsibility of a canine handler is enormous: to say there's nobody here, so move on," Wood said. "It's a major responsibility."

Copyright 2008 The Miami Herald