Search And Rescue Teams Active At The World Trade Center And The Pentagon

• FEMA activated 25 of the 28 FEMA-certified, national Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) task forces in response to the World Trade Center (WTC) and Pentagon terrorist attacks - the largest US&R deployment in U.S. history. These teams were deployed as part of the National US&R Response System, operating under FEMA authority.
  
  
• FEMA deployed 20 task force teams to the WTC site; including six California teams (City of Los Angeles, Menlo Park, Oakland, Riverside, Sacramento and San Diego), two Florida teams (Miami-Dade County and City of Miami), and one team each from Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington State.
  
  
• FEMA deployed five task force teams to work at the Pentagon site, including two teams from Virginia (Fairfax County and Virginia Beach) and one team each from Maryland, New Mexico and Tennessee.
  
  
• At the WTC, FEMA US&R teams worked under the existing command and control structure established by the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). FEMA teams were brought in to provide unique technical capabilities and to support the ongoing search and rescue effort.
  
  
• Many New York task force members regularly are employed by local police, fire and emergency response agencies and worked in conjunction with their departments at the site.
  
  
• US&R operations at the WTC site ran from September 11 through October 6, 2001 - a total of 26 days.
  
  
• The first teams at the WTC site were Pennsylvania Task Force (TF)1 and Massachusetts TF1, both arriving on September 11, 2001. The last team on site was California TF4 (Oakland). It demobilized October 6, 2001. New Jersey also sent a response team on September 11 and Puerto Rico on September 13 with both staging alongside the FEMA teams at the Javits Center. Neither team was, or is, part of the FEMA US&R system, and did not work on the site under FEMA auspices.
  
  
• The highest number of teams working the WTC site at one time was eight on September 14, 15 and 16, 2001.
  
  
• Several task force teams active at the WTC also operated as Rapid Intervention Teams (RIT), on standby to respond to any non-WTC search and rescue incident that may have occurred in the New York City area.
  
  
• The first teams on site at the Pentagon were Virginia TF1 (Fairfax County) and Maryland TF1 (Montgomery County). Both arrived within hours of the attack. The last team on site was New Mexico TF1, which demobilized on September 21, 2001.
  
  
• FEMA US&R teams provided support and technical assistance to local and state emergency management officials. Each team included 62 members and four rescue dogs. Each team divided into two, 31-member shifts with two dogs that worked 12-hour rotations, seven days a week.
  
  
• Each FEMA-sponsored task force member is highly trained for search-and-rescue operations in damaged or collapsed structures, hazardous materials evaluations and damaged structure stabilization. The team also can provide emergency medical care to the injured. Teams include: firefighters, structural engineers, paramedics/physicians, hazardous materials specialists, technicians, logistics specialists and canine/handler teams.
  
  
• Skills and experience gained by FEMA US&R teams will be used to help make their local departments stronger. Not only did their deployment help efforts at the WTC and Pentagon, but it helped communities all over the country improve their capabilities and effectiveness in responding to local emergencies.
  
  
• For more information on the National US&R Response System and the individual task forces across the country, please visit the FEMA US&R website at www.fema.gov/usr. Information on obtaining photos is available by calling the FEMA Photo Desk at (202) 646-2749, or emailing FEMAPhotodesk@dhs.gov. Film footage can be obtained by calling FEMA Video Services at (202) 646-3976.