EquipmentShare Creates Team Orange, a Volunteer Corps for Hurricane Season and Community Support

EquipmentShare announces Team Orange, a company-funded, boots-on-the-ground volunteer corps that strengthens community resiliency and disaster readiness. EquipmentShare launched the program this summer to train employees with military and first-responder backgrounds in coordinated disaster support. 

“Disaster response is unpredictable, but our commitment to people is constant. Team Orange is how we invest in our employees so they feel prepared and supported as they serve those in their communities who need it most,” said Jabbok Schlacks, co-founder and CEO of EquipmentShare. “We equip them with training, gear, and partners on the ground so they can arrive safely, stabilize conditions, and stand shoulder to shoulder with local organizations through recovery.”

Today, Team Orange includes multiple crews and 75 trained responders, strategically staged along the Gulf Coast and the Southeast Atlantic Coast, with additional crews forming in the Midwest to respond to tornadoes, and on the West Coast to prepare for wildfire season.  More teams are being trained each month to expand Team Orange capabilities in priority risk areas across the U.S. EquipmentShare is on standby stateside and ready to support those impacted by Hurricane Melissa, including families seeking refuge along the Gulf and Southeast Atlantic coasts.

While Team Orange is mobilized, all services and critical gear are covered by EquipmentShare, and its OEM partners are financial contributors to the effort. EquipmentShare works with top brands such as JLG, JCB, Genie and Cummins to stage and deliver essential equipment for rapid response operations. 

Team Orange members are trained to safely operate common equipment and serve as an extra set of hands for federal, state and local disaster response organizations. Crews can deploy with pumps, generators, light towers, skid steers, compact and standard excavators, telehandlers, and debris-handling attachments. They arrive with supplies to clear debris and distribute essential items in coordination with local authorities and nonprofit partners. They also work in tandem with the EquipmentShare Foundation to set up relief centers to prepare and distribute warm meals.

“Team Orange turns our nationwide capabilities into a simple, well-coordinated local response,” said Jim Parnell, Team Orange Disaster Response program manager. “Disasters do not wait, and neither do we. Crews are staged near high-risk areas, including emerging hurricane zones, and are supported by our T3 platform for real-time visibility and logistics so we can move assets and people quickly when minutes matter.”

With T3, Team Orange works from a single, connected picture of the fleet. Team Orange can see health, fuel and location for hundreds of thousands of assets, trigger preventive maintenance and redeploy equipment as conditions change. Access keypads, geofencing, and real-time alerts protect sites from theft and unauthorized use, which too often spike during a crisis. the result is simple: when the hard work starts, the right 
machines are ready, safe to operate and secured.

“Disasters have the potential to upend lives, so every act of support matters,” said a JLG spokesman. “Supplying dependable, high-performing access equipment to EquipmentShare’s Team Orange makes sure that trained responders and everyday heroes are ready to take action. Together, we’re working to keep operations safe, efficient and focused on restoring essential services and amenities to impacted communities. We’re proud to support this effort with equipment and expertise that keep recovery moving.” 

“When disaster strikes, access to reliable, high quality equipment is essential,” said Ben Bradshaw, executive vice president of North American sales, Genie. “Supporting EquipmentShare’s Team Orange puts our Quality by Design mission into action, helping trained responders restore communities safely and efficiently.” 

“Our goal is to help responders work safely and keep critical equipment ready. Partnering with EquipmentShare aligns our teams to move quickly when minutes matter,” said Andrea Whelan, executive vice president, JCB.

How Team Orange supports communities
•    Pre-positioned readiness: Trained crews and equipment are staged near high-risk zones ahead of hurricanes, tornado outbreaks and wildfire season.
•    Coordinated deployment: Crews collaborate with emergency managers, utility and public works teams, and vetted nonprofit partners.
•    Safe operations: Factory-trained operators abide by site safety protocols and PPE standards.
•    Humanitarian aid: The team works with the EquipmentShare Foundation on meal preparation, water and essentials distribution, and wellness checks for impacted residents.
•    Connected logistics: T3 technology is used for asset tracking, fuel status and maintenance to keep equipment running in demanding conditions.

Where Team Orange is operating
•    Gulf Coast: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
Focus: Hurricane preparation, landfall response, and post-storm recovery operations.
•    Southeast Atlantic Coast: Florida’s Atlantic coast, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Focus: Coastal storm and flood response, debris removal, and infrastructure support.
•    Tornado Alley: Central and southern plains.
Focus: Tornado response, emergency power deployment, and critical equipment delivery in rapid-response scenarios.
•    West Coast: Wildfire mitigation, response and cleanup.Focus: Wildfire mitigation, suppression support, and post-fire cleanup and reconstruction.