Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 1
Encyclopedia
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
. CA-TF1 is sponsored by the Los Angeles Fire Department
.
CA-TF was created on April 4, 1993, when the Mayor of Los Angeles
and the Los Angeles City Council
authorized the Fire Department to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) and FEMA to sponsore a US&R Task Force.
CA-TF1 is one of six Task Forces that is Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) certified having received extensive training in responding to incidents involving chemical
, biological
or radiological agents
.
When deploying, CA-TF1 can move its equipment in one of two ways. The first is to load the cache onto a military pallet
for shipment via air. The second is over land via two 40-foot (12 m) semi-trailer truck
s and a 24-foot (7 m) crewcab box van owned by the Task Force.
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force
thumb|Members of FEMA US&R Task Force at [[World Trade Center]] after the 9/11 attacks.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...
based in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. CA-TF1 is sponsored by the Los Angeles Fire Department
Los Angeles Fire Department
The Los Angeles Fire Department is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Los Angeles....
.
CA-TF was created on April 4, 1993, when the Mayor of Los Angeles
Mayor of Los Angeles, California
The mayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive officer of the city. He is elected for a four-year term and limited to serving no more than two terms. Under the California Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan...
and the Los Angeles City Council
Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles.The Council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the Council at the first regular meeting after...
authorized the Fire Department to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) and FEMA to sponsore a US&R Task Force.
CA-TF1 is one of six Task Forces that is Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) certified having received extensive training in responding to incidents involving chemical
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
, biological
Biological agent
A biological agent — also called bio-agent or biological threat agent — is a bacterium, virus, prion, or fungus which may cause infection, allergy, toxicity or otherwise create a hazard to human health. They can be used as a biological weapon in bioterrorism or biological warfare...
or radiological agents
Radiological weapon
A radiological weapon or radiological dispersion device is any weapon that is designed to spread radioactive material with the intent to kill, and cause disruption upon a city or nation....
.
When deploying, CA-TF1 can move its equipment in one of two ways. The first is to load the cache onto a military pallet
463L master pallet
The HCU-6/E or 463L Master Pallet is a standardized pallet used for transporting military air cargo. It is the main air-cargo pallet of the United States Air Force, designed to be loaded and offloaded on today's military airlifters as well as many civilian Civil Reserve Air Fleet cargo...
for shipment via air. The second is over land via two 40-foot (12 m) semi-trailer truck
Semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
s and a 24-foot (7 m) crewcab box van owned by the Task Force.
Deployments
- September 11, 2001, terrorist attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
- Deployed to World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, New York City, New York for nine days of search around the South Tower debris pile. - 2002 Winter Olympics2002 Winter OlympicsThe 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
, Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
- Deployed to Utah on standby in the event of a disaster or attack. - Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
- Deployed to a TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
staging areaStaging areaA staging area is a location where organisms, people, vehicles, equipment or material are assembled before use.- In construction :...
.