 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Urban Search and Rescue Pennsylvania Task Force or PA-TF1 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. [1]
Pennsylvania Task Force One, PA-TF-1, serves as one of FEMA’s 28 Urban Search and Rescue Teams. The sponsoring agency for Pennsylvania Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue is the Philadelphia Fire Department, through a Quad Party Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Philadelphia, DHS/FEMA Washington, D.C., FEMA Region III and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. The 200-plus member team includes many agencies, with personnel primarily being from the Philadelphia Fire Department, the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire, and the Baltimore County Fire Department. [2]
The Task Force operates from a 27,000 sq ft (2,500 m2) Special Operations Center located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All management and support functions such as training, logistics and maintenance are conducted from this facility. The Task Force maintains a FTE staff of a program manager, financial manager, training manager and logistics manager. The Special Operations Center and administration and management organizational structure support both the federally deployable PA-TF1, as well as the in-state US&R response system.
PA-TF-1 has been deployed to numerous incidents of national significance. The Task Force's first federal deployment was to North Carolina in 1999 for Hurricane Floyd. During this deployment, PA-TF1 gained distinction for several swift water rescues. PA-TF1 was deployed to the 2001 World Trade Center Attacks, the 2005 Hurricane Katrina/Rita event, and the 2008 Hurricane Ike/Gustav storm. PA-TF1 has also been deployed for National Special Security Events. Members from PA-TF1 also participate on the management teams established through FEMA to support the US&R system. These teams, referred to as Incident Support Teams (IST), provide the overhead coordination and support when there are multiple Task Forces operating within the same theatre of operations. Since the inception of the National US&R Response System, these personnel have responded to the majority of federally declared disasters where ESF-9 was activated for US&R.
In 2002, then Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker proposed the formation of an in-state US&R Response System. This was a result of recommendations from the post 9-11 Governor's Task Force on Homeland Security. On September 11, 2001, Pennsylvania Task Force One, PA-TF-1, was immediately deployed to New York City. Subsequently, a terrorist aircraft possibly bound for Washington DC crashed in Shanksville, PA. Concerned that the aircraft could have crashed into one of many cities such as Johnstown, Harrisburg, or York, while en route to its intended target, the Governor's Task Force recommended creation of a US&R capability dedicated for in-state use. This search and rescue team was envisioned to perform the same search and rescue capabilities as a FEMA Type I US&R Task Force, but only be deployable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. There was also a desire to reduce the activation and deployment time for the in-state team, and a decentralized system was developed. Today, there are seven (7) regional US&R elements within Pennsylvania. These elements can be activated at either the local level, or at the state level, and are primarily operational in nature. Large scale incident management and support to the regional elements is provided through the headquarters element. The Pennsylvania US&R Response System is managed solely by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. Since its inception, this system has been activated for many localized collapse events, as well as several natural disasters within the state, such as the 2006 northeast PA floods. It has also been activated for security events such as the Gubernatorial Inauguration and prominent sporting events. [3]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster. The only exception to the state's gubernatorial declaration requirement occurs when an emergency or disaster takes place on federal property or to a federal asset—for example, the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, or the Space Shuttle Columbia in the 2003 return-flight disaster.
The disaster recovery response to Hurricane Katrina in late 2005 included U.S. federal government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), state and local-level agencies, federal and National Guard soldiers, non-governmental organizations, charities, and private individuals. Tens of thousands of volunteers and troops responded or were deployed to the disaster; most in the affected area but also throughout the U.S. at shelters set up in at least 19 states.
Urban search and rescue is a type of technical rescue operation that involves the location, extrication, and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in an urban area, namely structural collapse due to natural disasters, war, terrorism or accidents, mines and collapsed trenches.
A FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force is a team of individuals specializing in urban search and rescue, disaster recovery, and emergency triage and medicine. The teams are deployed to emergency and disaster sites within six hours of notification. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created the Task Force concept to provide support for large scale disasters in the United States. FEMA provides financial, technical and training support for the Task Forces as well as creating and verifying the standards of Task Force personnel and equipment.
Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 1 or CA-TF1 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Los Angeles, California and sponsored by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 2 or CA-TF2 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Los Angeles County, California. CA-TF2 is sponsored by the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 3 or CA-TF3 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Menlo Park, California. CA-TF3 is sponsored by the Menlo Park Fire District.
Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 4 or CA-TF4 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Oakland, California. CA-TF4 is sponsored by the Oakland Fire Department.
Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 5 or CA-TF5 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Orange County, California. CA-TF5 is sponsored by the Orange County Fire Authority.
Urban Search and Rescue Colorado Task Force 1 (CO-TF1) is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Colorado. They were one of the 20 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force teams deployed to the World Trade Center site after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The task force is sponsored by the West Metro Fire Protection District and is made up of 70 positions with over 200 trained members including firefighters, paramedics, engineers and canine handlers.
Urban Search and Rescue Florida Task Force 1 (FL-TF1) is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Miami-Dade County, Florida and sponsored by the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department. The mission of FL-TF1 is to respond to natural and man-made disasters to provide search and rescue as well as both medical and communications support.
Urban Search and Rescue Massachusetts Task Force 1 or MA-TF1 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Beverly, Massachusetts. MA-TF1 is sponsored by the city of Beverly. The team is made up of 150 people including Police, Fire, EMS and Civilians.
Urban Search and Rescue Missouri Task Force 1 (MO-TF1) is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Boone County, Missouri. The task force is sponsored by the Boone County Fire Protection District and is designated as the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Response Team for the state of Missouri.
NYC Urban Search & Rescue Task Force or also known by its Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designation of NY-TF1 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in New York City, New York. NY-TF1 is managed by the NYC Office of Emergency Management (NYCOEM) and its members mainly come from Fire Department of New York and the New York City Police Department.
Texas A&M Task Force 1, abbreviated TX-TF1, is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, one of 28 teams that form the FEMA National Urban Search and Rescue System, and as such it is in rotation for deploying to national disasters and incidents of national significance. It is sponsored by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service and headquartered in College Station, Texas.
Urban Search and Rescue Utah Task Force 1 is one of 28 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Urban Search & Rescue Task Forces in the United States. The task force is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and is managed by the Unified Fire Authority. Activation of the task force is accomplished by the State of Utah, or FEMA for rapid deployment of the Task Force, modular or single US&R resources. The task force is self-sufficient for up to 72 hours and includes physicians, search dogs, heavy rescue technicians firefighters and paramedics, and structural engineers. The Task Force manages 6.3 million dollars in specialized vehicles and equipment that is maintained by personnel trained by FEMA.
Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 1 or VA-TF1 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Fairfax County, Virginia. VA-TF1 is sponsored by the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.
Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 2 (VA-TF2) is one of the 28 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces. Based in Virginia Beach, VA-TF2 is sponsored by the Virginia Beach Fire Department.
Urban Search and Rescue South Carolina Task Force 1 or SC-TF1 is an urban search and rescue task force that is sponsored by the South Carolina Firefighter Mobilization Committee, which was created by the South Carolina Firefighter Mobilization Act of 2000.
The Phoenix Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The department responded to 186,594 calls during 2014–2015, with 88% being for emergency medical services. The Phoenix Fire Department currently protects 1.5 million residents spread across an area of 520 square miles (1,300 km2).
Fire departments of the United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USAR Task Forces | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
