Author: Bill Gabbert

At least 10 Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces in the United States have been activated to assist the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Here is an update from the web site of California Task Force 5, which is organized by the Orange County Fire Authority.
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1-14-2010
CATF5 Haiti Update 1/14, 8:15pm

USAR CATF5 worked throughout the day today at March Air Reserve Base. The Task Force focused on some logistical challenges throughout the afternoon. CATF5 maintains a state of operational readiness and is prepared to respond.

The Task Force is currently staged while waiting for transportation to Haiti. Once that transportation becomes available, the Task Force will load it’s cache and vehicles while looking forward to assisting those in need.

CATF5 plans to rest this evening while remaining optimistic that their transportation will soon arrive.

1-14-2010
Haiti Update for Thursday January 14, 2010 (Day #1)

Last night around 8:30, The California Task Force 5 Urban Search and Rescue team was activated to assist with the ongoing rescue efforts in the wake of the devastating 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. CATF-5 will join nine other US&R Task Forces in Haiti. The other teams deployed to this incident are: Virginia TF-1 (Fairfax), Virginia TF-2 (Virginia Beach), California TF-2 (LA County), California TF-7 (Sacramento), Florida TF-1 (Miami-Dade), Florida TF-2 (Miami), New York TF-1, Ohio TF-1, and Texas TF-1. This is an unprecedented international deployment of resources, in that many of the teams listed above are FEMA teams typically limited to incidents within the United States.

CA TF-5 is a Type 1 team consisting of 75 members from OCFA, Anaheim Fire, Orange City Fire, Santa Ana Fire, Montebello Fire, and Chino Valley Fire Protection District. The team is comprised of highly trained and skilled responders from a variety of disciplines.

At this time, CA TF-5 is at March Air Force Base awaiting military transport to Haiti. As can be expected, there is a backlog of aircraft on the ground at the available landing strips in Haiti.

As I’m sure youuve seen on the news, this is a huge disaster with reports of tens of thousands killed, and millions left homeless. The task forces that have landed and begun rescue work have already reported several live rescues. Please keep our responders from CA TF5, the other task forces, the many volunteers, and the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers during these challenging times.

Keith Richter
Fire Chief
Orange County Fire Authority

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Photos of the Orange County task force being deployed taken by the Orange County Register are HERE.

Air Force photos of task forces and equipment being deployed are HERE.

When the two Urban Search and Rescue Task forces from Los Angeles County Fire Department and Fairfax County, Virginia were dispatched to aid the victims of the Haiti earthquake, I did not know much about how they were organized. But after some research, mostly at the FEMA web site, I found out more about them.

Currently, there are 28 task forces across the country. They are sponsored by FEMA and are staffed and equipped to respond to any type of emergency incident where search and rescue is required. Each task force is equipped with the necessary tools and equipment and is supposed to be able to begin traveling within 6 hours.

FEMA’s standard operating procedure calls for them to send the three closest task forces, and more if necessary. As far we we can tell, they did not follow this procedure for the Haiti earthquake, sending only two task forces, as of January 14 anyway, that were not the closest.

(UPDATE @ 7:38 p.m. Jan. 14; we found out that the Miami Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, South Florida Task Force 2, departed just after noon today, headed toward Haiti.)

Each task force has two 31-person teams, four canines, and a comprehensive equipment cache. The idea is that the 31-person teams would rotate, each working for about 12 hours a day. They are supposed to be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours, and should be able to stay on the incident for 10 days.

FEMA claims that the Task forces operate within the Incident Command System, but they also say that the personnel on the teams work in one of six areas:

1. Management

Composition:          Task Force Leader, Safety Officer, Planning, Search Manager, Rescue Manager, Logistics, Medical Manager

Functions:                 Provides overall management and coordination of task force operations.

2. Search

Composition:            Canine Specialists, Search Canines, Technical Search Specialists

Functions:                  Utilizes canines and technical/electronic search to locate trapped victims.

3. Rescue

Composition:            Rescue Specialists organized into four squads with leader and five specialists, and includes Heavy Rigging Specialists.

Functions:                 Performs extrication of trapped victims. Skilled in cutting, shoring, lifting, and breaching steel and reinforced concrete.

4. Medical

Composition:            Physicians and Medical Specialists at the paramedic or equivalent level.

Functions:                 Provides pre-hospital and emergency care for task force members and crush syndrome/confined space medicine for rescued victims.

5. Planning

Composition:            Structural Engineers, Hazardous Materials Specialists, Technical Information Specialists.

Functions:                 Provides support to the overall search and rescue mission to include: planning, hazards evaluation, structural integrity assessments, and technical documentation.

6. Logistics

Composition:            Logisticians, Communications Specialists, and Support Specialists.

Functions:                 Provides support to the overall search and rescue mission to include: logistical, communications, mobilization and demobilization, and transportation.

Here is a CNN video that was filmed yesterday of the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force preparing to depart on an Air Force C-17 aircraft for Haiti. The Task Force arrived very early this morning in Haiti.

(NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center has issued an updated El Niño Advisory, predicting that it will continue through June, 2010. Here is an excerpt:

For the contiguous United States, potential El Niño impacts include above-average precipitation for the southern tier of the country, with below-average precipitation in the Pacific Northwest and in the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Below-average snowfall and above-average temperatures are most likely across the northern tier of states (excluding New England), while below-average temperatures are favored for the south-central and southeastern states.

Thanks Dick