| What
is an Urban Search and Rescue Task Force? |
| An
Urban Search and Rescue task Force is used to locate,
remove and provide medical care to persons in collapsed
buildings. |
| |
| What
type of incidents does an urban search and rescue
task force respond to? |
| Building
collapses resultant of earthquakes, tornadoes, terrorist
attacks or construction and industrial accidents. |
| |
| How
many people are deployed with the Task Force? |
| 62
persons and 4 search dogs comprise the deployed
Task Force. |
| |
| How
many total people are involved in the Task Force? |
| To
ensure 62 persons can deploy at any given time,
federal requirements mandate that each position
be staffed three deep. In total, 186 people are
necessary to properly staff the Task Force. |
| |
| Who
is in charge at the disaster site? |
| The
Urban Search and Rescue Task force is designed to
assist the local control of the incident. |
| |
| Are
there training standards? |
| Colorado
Task Force 1 has trained and equipped following
the rigorous Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) guidelines. www.fema.gov |
| |
| How
large is the equipment cache? |
| More
than 16,200 separate equipment items are maintained
in inventory and sent when the Task Force is deployed.
Total equipment cache weight is in excess of 76,000
pounds. The equipment cache is carried on seven
military airlift pallets and requires two tractor-trailers
for transport. |
| |
| How
much is the equipment worth and who pays for it? |
| The
complete Task Force equipment cache costs just under
$1.7 million. The cache is provided through state
and federal grant funds along with private
donations. |
| |
| Is
the Task Force equipped to support itself on a mission? |
| The
Task Force is designed to be self-sufficient for
up to 72 hours. After that the military re-supplies
the Task Force. |
| |
| What
are the minimum training standards? |
| Minimum
training for Task Force members includes an 80-hour
Structural Collapse Technician course. Members must
also be certified in CPR and licensed as Emergency
Medical Technicians. Specialty training is then
provided to individual disciplines. |
| |
| Who
pays the personnel costs? |
| All
personnel involved in the development, training
and preparation of the Task Force have volunteered
their time and effort. To date, more than 90,000
hours have been donated by Task Force personnel.
During a federal deployment, the federal government
pays personnel expenses. |
| |
| What
are the qualifications of the structural specialists? |
| Structural
engineer Task Force members are licensed professional
engineers in Colorado. |
| |
| How
is the Task Force Managed? |
| Colorado
Task Force One is managed by the West Metro Fire
Protection District under an agreement with the
State Emergency Management Agency. |
| |
| How
do members receive specialty training? |
| Training
for Task Force members is funded by the Sate Emergency
Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management
Agency. Specialty team members have attended structural
school in California and Ohio, technical search
school in Pennsylvania and Maryland and logistics
training in Texas. |
| |
| What
medical qualifications do members have? |
| Medical
group members are emergency trauma physicians, emergency
room nurses and paramedics and have completed a
week-long disaster medicine course conducted by
George Washington University. |
| |
| Where
does the Task Force train? |
| The
urban search and rescue training facilities are
provided by the University of Colorado-Columbia,
College of Engineering; University of Colorado Administrative
Services; The Denver Tech Center and Ft. Carson
in Colorado. |
| |
| Where
does the Task Force obtain its medical support? |
| Colorado
Hospitals and Clinics has provided by tremendous
assistance in the support of the medical team. |
PHONE:
303-989-4307
