HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Incredible images of the apartment building collapse down in Surfside hit hard for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Capt. Anthony Daugherty.

“I was awestruck," he said. "It’s not often you see a building of that size come down and given the time and the occupancy, you know that there’s folks inside of that place."

The sight hit hard because while his own crews in Hillsborough County train for this very scenario, they hope they never have to actually encounter it.

“Time is of the essence and when a call like this comes out, it’s imperative we be ready to respond at a moments notice,” Daugherty said.

And they are ready to help, thanks to life-like simulations at the training grounds.

“We’re able to emulate, to a degree, some of the situations they may be facing down there,” said Daugherty. “We can furnish the structures — we put everything you may find in an apartment or condominium, we’ll put those types of things in our training simulators. When our folks are conducting searches and doing their operations in there, it will be what they may find in a real world event.”

They also use tools, such as a Delsar Unit, that can pick up sounds and vibrations within the rubble and help responders pinpoint where a victim might be.

Then they use cameras on a long pole to help get a view from underneath.

Every way they can prepare, they do it, Daugherty said.

“Those are our neighbors, those are our family members, those are folks there, they’re people and this is what we are trained to do,” he said.

Emergency workers say if they can save even one life, then it’s their duty jump in.

Right now, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue has the truck packed and ready to go, should crews in Miami-Dade request their assistance.