Crews continue to clean up the mess Superstorm Sandy left behind last week and a local strike team from several surrounding counties did their part to help out by traveling to areas of New Jersey hit hardest by the storm.

The team traveled to the heart of the storm and saw the devastation firsthand. Their job was not only to help people who've lost their homes but to give first responders a break from a job they've been doing around the clock for a week straight.

"It was massive devastation," said Robert Craig, a member of the Southern Alleghenies EMS Council who traveled to New Jersey. "You can't even imagine it."

Members of the SAEMS Council returned home Monday.

"This is one of several deployments we have done through Pennsylvania to assist both surrounding states and also down south with hurricane response," said the group's director, Carl Moen.

The strike team got the call last week and quickly responded. Their main duty was to relieve local EMS units in New Jersey.

"We helped the relief crews down there with some emergency calls and some of our other crews were dispersed down to the more devastated areas to help with the crews down there," said Craig.

That's where they saw the devastation first-hand.

"We've seen a lot of homes just gone. They were gone," said Craig. "A lot of power lines were down, power out everywhere still down there."

The job requires extensive training. Most of the team are active fire and EMS members locally. 

"They have the extra resources and capabilities that they can go out of state or respond to another state or situation and not impact their local emergency response," said Moen. "Their communities at home are still taken care of while they're out serving other areas."

Strictly voluntary, it's a job that sees no pay.

"I love going helping people when they need help," said Craig. "We're one big family and this is what we love to do."

"One of the things we've heard back from the people in New Jersey is that they just appreciate the help," said Moen.