Q:What is FEMA's National US&R Response System?
A: The national US&R system is a framework for structuring local emergency response personnel into a series of specialized disaster response teams. These task forces, complete with the necessary tools, equipment, and training, are deployed by FEMA in response to catastrophic structural collapse.
Q: What is the mission of an Urban Search and Rescue Task Force?
A:
An Urban Search and Rescue Task Force is used to locate, remove, and provide immediate medical care to persons trapped in collapsed structures. These collapses may be a result of natural occurrences such as earthquakes and hurricanes, or man-made events such as terrorist attacks and industrial or construction accidents.
Q: How many FEMA US&R teams are there?
A:
There are currently 28 federal US&R teams spread across the United States. Eight of these teams are from California, two from Florida, two from Virginia, and one each from Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and the state of Washington.
Q: How are FEMA US&R teams different from other search and rescue teams?
A:
FEMA teams organize existing local search and rescue capabilities into a national response asset that can be quickly assigned to any domestic location. They must be able to deploy within six hours and be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours. They must also have the manpower to fill a predetermined roster of 19 unique positions with multiple personnel in each position. To receive FEMA certification, the team must be approved by a US&R oversight board that includes leaders in the US&R field and FEMA officials. One of the greatest difficulties in obtaining this certification is being able to staff a complete roster trained individuals.
Q: How is the Task Force Managed?
A:
Ohio Task Force One exists under the management of the Miami Valley Fire and EMS Alliance. In addition, there are several dedicated full-time paid task force positions including an executive director, training and personnel officer, financial officer, equipment cache managers, and administrative staff.
PERSONNEL
Q: Does FEMA directly hire members of the US&R teams?
A:
FEMA does not directly hire task force members. The recruitment and retention of team members is the responsibility of the individual task forces which are credentialed and approved to do so by FEMA’s stringent criteria. The training required to become a task force member is extensive and the commitment to remain deployable is significant. For more information on becoming a member of OH-TF1, please go to APPLICANTS area of our web site.
Q: Are team members paid?
A:
Task force members are not paid for the countless hours they spend training, attending meetings, or maintaining equipment. This is considered volunteer time and is readily given by the members. When the Task Force is deployed to an incident, however, team members (or the employers of the team members) are reimbursed by FEMA for the time away from their jobs and families.
Q: What kind of positions make up each team?
A:
Task force positions fall into roughly six categories: search, rescue, medical, hazmat, logistics, and planning. The search team consists of experts in the use of small cameras, sensitive listening equipment, and highly trained canine units. Rescue is tasked with heavy debris removal and shoring construction. The medical component includes physicians and paramedics for immediate care of surviving victims and the wellbeing of team members. Hazmat technicians monitor and mitigate potentially hazardous environments that may be found at a disaster site. Logistics specialists are responsible for organizing and transporting the huge cache of equipment that accompanies the Task Force. Planning team members are responsible for gathering information and creating plans for future operational periods.
Q: How do members receive training?
A:
Most of the basic training required for membership is provided by the task force itself. Further specialized training is obtained directly through FEMA’s National Urban Search and Rescue Response System. Some of these national training opportunities are so specialized that they may only be offered once annually.
Q: Where does the Task Force train?
A:
Ohio Task Force One trains at the McFadden training center in Dayton, OH. This 6-acre site includes a 6,000 square foot training building, multiple debris piles, and canine agility course.
Q: What professional qualifications do the team members have?
A:
Most task force positions require prior professional qualifications before being considered for membership. Most team members are nationally certified firefighters with over 240 hours of basic training. The majority of team members are also trained as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s), and many of them have attained the level of Paramedic. The medical component of the Task Force includes licensed physicians with experience in the field of emergency medicine. The team’s Structural Specialists are registered professional structural engineers in the states they practice.
EQUIPMENT
Q: How well is the Task Force equipped to support itself on a mission?
A:
The Task Force is equipped to be completely self-sufficient for up to 72 hours. Beyond that, the Department of Defense is typically tasked with re-supplying the Task Force.
Q: How large is the equipment cache?
A:
More than 27,000 separate pieces of equipment are stored in inventory and sent when the Task Force is deployed. The total weight of this cache is in excess of 80,000 lbs. The equipment cache can be transported on seven military airlift pallets or may be hauled by ground in two tractor-trailers and several box trucks. Each team member may carry as much as 60 pounds of clothing, equipment, and personal protective gear.
Q: Who funds the Task Force’s equipment?
A:
The current equipment cache is valued at over $4 million dollars. FEMA sets the standards for most of this equipment and funds its purchase.
OPERATIONS
Q: What are the first steps the teams take when they arrive at a site?
A:
FEMA US&R teams first meet with the acting incident commander - the local fire chief or emergency manager who is in charge of the site. After a general situation update and briefing, some team members set up a nearby base of operations, including tents, equipment and a stage area. Meanwhile, search and rescue specialists and structural engineers inspect the site for major problem areas, likely areas to search, the condition of the collapse, and the presence of hazardous materials. Also at this time, logistics team members are contacting local vendors to obtain heavy equipment, shoring materials, food, portable toilets and other supplies.
Q: Then what happens?
A:
The search and rescue specialists being to carefully enter areas of the structure that are not in imminent danger of collapse. They will have looked at blueprints of the building to understand its layout and will mark areas that need bracing and areas where victims can be seen or heard. During this preliminary search, if any victim is found alive and easily accessible, the survey halts and work focuses around efforts to get the victim out. Medical services are given immediately so that they are treated while they are being extricated. After this preliminary search, the detailed search begins with dogs, cameras and listening devices.
Q: What comes next?
A:
Major structural shoring is the next priority since additional search and rescue is not possible until the site is stabilized. Both search and shoring operations will often take place in many different areas of the site simultaneously. As more areas of the structure are shored, the searchers are able to penetrate deeper into the collapsed structure. The search continues as long as it's possible that victims remain alive.
Q: What makes the task so difficult?
A:
Essentially the teams have to "de-layer" the site. Layers of slabs "pancake" on top of each other during a collapse. Within each layer are potentially safe voids for victims. The site has to be cleared from the top downwards and from the perimeter inwards or the pile may collapse further. Digging from underneath threatens rescue workers and potentially injures surviving victims buried in the rubble.
Q: What kind of risks do the US&R teams face?
A:
Of greatest concern, of course, is being crushed by a structural collapse. Rescuers also get cuts and scrapes, broken bones, burns, and respiratory injuries due to hazardous fumes, dust and carbon monoxide. They are also susceptible to diseases such diphtheria, tetanus and pneumonia.
Q: Why do rescuers use "bucket brigades" instead of bulldozers and cranes?
A: Many times, heavy equipment can not get close enough to the core of the site because it is blocked by twisted steel and slabs. Furthermore, the use of heavy equipment may destabilize the delicate structure, risking the lives of rescuers and victims buried in the rubble. Only by hand can the pulverized concrete, glass, furniture and other debris be carefully removed. In a large site, such as the World Trade Center, the bucket brigade had to span a long way across potentially unstable parts of the structure to firm ground where large trucks could haul it away. The site itself spanned four square city blocks and encompassed seven different collapsed buildings.
Q: At the World Trade Center, for example, how much debris are we talking about?
A:
In the first five days after the collapse of the towers, 30,000 tons of debris was removed by hand. This was only 5% of the total debris created by the buildings.
Q: Do bulldozers or cranes ever help?
A:
There are certain instances were heavy equipment, such as cranes, can assist in a rescue operation. Most often, however, this equipment is only used when it is determined that no survivors remain and efforts shift from rescue of live victims to recovery of the deceased.
Q: With 28 teams, why were there only eight assigned to the World Trade Center and four to the Pentagon?
A:
The number of rescue teams assigned to a given site is a function of space limitations. Only so many workers can "attack" the structure at any one time before it becomes too congested and dangerous. Also, there are often local rescuers on site as well. It is the intent of the FEMA US&R program to supplement these efforts; not overtake them.
Q: How often are the US&R teams rotated?
A:
Due to the strenuous work involved, teams generally work in alternating 12-hour shifts. During changes of shift, individual members will be rotated within the team, or entire teams may rotate within the site. Typically, no team stays on site for more than seven days before being rotated out.
Q: How long will US&R teams stay at a site?
A:
The simple answer is, “As long as it takes.” Typically, teams will remain on site until it is determined that no victims could possibly survive any longer. At the Oklahoma City incident, for example, US&R teams was present for 15 days.
Q: Who is in charge at the disaster site?
A:
The Urban Search and Rescue program is meant to supplement, not replace, the local response effort. It is therefore the local incident commander that is in overall control of the situation.