Search and rescue in the United States

Search and rescue in the United States involves a wide range of organizations that have search and rescue responsibilities.

Charlotte Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue vehicle

In January 2008, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the National Response Framework (NRF) which serves as the guiding document for a federal response during a national emergency. In addition to the NRF there are 15 annexes relating to Emergency Support Functions (ESF) which includes other federal agencies that contain resources or expertise to support an emergency. Search and Rescue is included as ESF-9 and divides SAR into four primary elements while assigning a federal agency with the lead role for each of the four elements.[1]

  • Structural Collapse-USAR: Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Waterborne: United States Coast Guard, United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
  • Inland-wilderness: United States Department of Interior, National Park Service
  • Aeronautical: United States Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, Civil Air Patrol, United States Air Force Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service, US Navy (secondary missions for helicopter squadrons)

In the U.S., SAR standards are developed primarily by ASTM International and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) which are then used by organizations such as the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA), the National Association of Search and Rescue (NASAR), and the NFPA to develop training that will meet or exceed those standards.[2] Within ASTM International, most standards of relevance to SAR are developed by Committee F32 on Search and Rescue. Formed in 1988, the committee had 85 current members and jurisdiction of 38 approved standards.[2]

National organizations
  • Explorer Search and Rescue
  • Mountain Rescue Association
  • National Association for Search and Rescue[3]
  • National Association of Volunteer Search and Rescue Teams[4]
  • United States Search And Rescue Task Force

State organizations
Rescue workers and boats on the central span and the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1 August 2007
Alabama
  • Alabama Association of Rescue Squads[5]
  • Alabama Search and Rescue[6]
  • Red Mountain Search Dog Association[7]
California
  • San Luis Obispo County Search and Rescue[8]
  • Bay Area Search and Rescue Council[9]
  • Marin County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue[10]
  • San Mateo County Search and Rescue[11]
  • Long Beach Search & Rescue
  • San Diego Mountain Rescue Team[12]
  • Montrose Search and Rescue Team[13]
  • Altadena Mountain Rescue Team[14]
  • Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team[15]
  • Antelope Valley Search and Rescue[16]
  • Malibu Search and Rescue Team[17]
  • Santa Clarita Valley Search and Rescue Team[18]
  • San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team[19]
Colorado
  • Arapahoe Rescue Patrol
  • Rampart Search and Rescue
  • Mesa County Search and Rescue[20]
Florida
  • Brothers to the Rescue
Maryland
  • Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police
Michigan
  • Michigan Search and Rescue[21]
  • K-9 ONE Search and Rescue[22]
Missouri
  • Urban Search and Rescue Missouri Task Force 1[23]
New Jersey
  • Urban Search and Rescue New Jersey Task Force 1[24]
  • New Jersey Search and Rescue[25]
New Mexico
  • New Mexico Search and Rescue Council[26]
New York
  • Urban Search and Rescue New York Task Force 1
  • Westchester County Technical Rescue Team[27]
  • New York Search And Rescue[28] - Serving the Lower Hudson Valley
  • Long Island Search and Rescue[29] - Primarily serving Suffolk and Nassau Counties
  • New York State Federation of Search and Rescue Teams[30] - Statewide listing of SAR teams
  • Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue[31] - Serving all of New York State - Primarily the Adirondack Region wilderness
North Carolina
  • NCCERT (North Carolina Canine Emergency Response Team)
Ohio
  • Rapid Assistance to Community Emergencies - Search and Rescue[32]
Oregon
  • Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue
  • North Oregon Regional Search and Rescue
  • Portland Mountain Rescue
Pennsylvania
  • East Penn Search and Rescue[33]
Virginia

Virginia benefits from a state-coordinated system of training and response under the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM). Under Title 44 of the Code of Virginia, VDEM develops and maintains the Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Operations Plan (COVEOP) that includes the ESF-9 Annex for Search and Rescue. Similar to the federal version of ESF-9 under the National Response Framework (NRF), VDEM divides SAR into four primary elements. While VDEM functions as the lead for ESF-9, many agencies, departments, and volunteer organizations routinely responds to and supports SAR operations in the Commonwealth of Virginia.[34][35]

Washington
  • Washington State Search and Rescue Volunteer Advisory Council[36]
  • Jefferson County Search and Rescue[37]
  • King County Search and Rescue Association[38]
  • Seattle Mountain Rescue
  • Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue[39]
  • Spokane County Search and Rescue[40]
  • Pierce County Search and Rescue Council[41]
  • Washington Air Search and Rescue[42]

Aeronautical

Search and rescue services for downed, missing, or overdue aircraft and Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs). Organizations include:

  • Civil Air Patrol[43]
  • Virginia State Police, Aviation Division[44]

Inland/Wilderness

For search and rescue of lost and missing persons in a wide variety of circumstances and environments, resources include:

Maritime/Waterborne

Providing search and rescue for vessels in distress in coastal and inland waters, resources include:

  • Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries[59]
  • Virginia Marine Resources Commission[60]
  • United States Coast Guard
  • Smith Point Volunteer Sea Rescue[61]
  • Eckerd College Search and Rescue[62]

USAR/Disaster

To provide response in the event of collapsed structures and significant events, organizations include:

  • Maryland Task Force 1
  • Virginia Task Force 1[63]
  • Virginia Task Force 2[64]

References
  1. "Section ESF #9-1".
  2. O'Toole, Thomas F. (n.d.). "Committee F32 on Search and Rescue". Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  3. National Association for Search and Rescue (November 2009). "National Association for Search and Rescue". Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  4. National Association of Volunteer Search and Rescue Teams (2008). "National Association of Volunteer Search and Rescue Teams". Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  5. "Alabama Association of Rescue Squads". alars.org. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  6. "Alabama Search and Rescue". alsar.gov. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  7. "Red Mountain Search Dog Association". rmsda.org. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  8. San Luis Obispo County Search and Rescue (April 2013). "SLOSAR". Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  9. Bay Area Search And Rescue Council (December 2009). "BASARAC". Retrieved December 10, 2009.
  10. Marin County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue Team (December 2009). "Marin County Search and Rescue". Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  11. San Mateo County (2008). "Volunteer - Search and Rescue Units". Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  12. San Diego County (2011). "San Diego Mountain Rescue Team". Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  13. "Montrose Search and Rescue". www.montrosesar.org. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  14. "Altadena Mountain Rescue Team". www.amrt.org. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  15. "Home". www.smsr.org. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  16. "AV Search and Rescue". www.avsearchandrescue.com. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  17. "Malibu Search & Rescue (Malibu SAR) > Home". www.malibusar.or. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  18. "Santa Clarita Valley Search & Rescue Team". www.scvrescue.com. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  19. "San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team". sdmrt.com. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  20. "Mesa County Search and Rescue". mesacountysearchandrescue.org. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  21. "Michigan Search and Rescue". MISAR. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  22. K-9 One SAR (n.d.). "K-9 One". Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  23. "Missouri Task Force 1 organization". BCFPD. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
  24. "New Jersey Task Force 1 organization". NJ-TF1. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  25. "New Jersey Search and Rescue organization". NJ-TF1. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  26. "New Mexico Search and Rescue Council".
  27. Westchester County Technical Rescue Team (2012). "Special Operations Unit". Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  28. New York Search And Rescue (2007). "New York Search And Rescue". Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  29. Long Island Search and Rescue (2012). "Long Island Search and Rescue". Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  30. New York State Federation of Search and Rescue Teams (2013). "New York State Federation of Search and Rescue Teams". Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  31. Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue (2016). "Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue". Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  32. Rapid Assistance to Community Emergencies (2010). "Rapid Assistance to Community Emergencies". Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  33. "East Penn Search and Rescue". 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  34. Virginia Department of Emergency Management (2009). "vaemergency.com". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  35. Virginia Department of Emergency Management (2009). "Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Operations Plan". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  36. "Washington State Search and Rescue Volunteer Advisory Council (WA SARVAC)". Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  37. "Jefferson Search and Rescue – Jefferson County, Washington". Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  38. "King County Search And Rescue | Our volunteers bring people home to their loved ones". Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  39. "Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue". SCVSAR. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  40. "Spokane County Search and Rescue | Spokane County, WA". www.spokanecounty.org. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  41. "Pierce County Search and Rescue Council | Pierce County Search and Rescue Council". www.pc-sar-council.org. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  42. "wasar". Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  43. Virginia Wing, Civil Air Patrol]authorlink = (2003). "Virginia Wing Headquarters Civil Air Patrol". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  44. Virginia Department of State Police (2009). "Aviation Unit". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  45. Amherst County Search and Rescue (n.d.). "Amherst County Search and Rescue". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  46. Burleson, Randall C. (2009). "Appalachian Professional Tracking Group, Inc". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  47. Appalachian Search; Rescue Conference (n.d.). "Welcome to ASRC". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  48. Black Diamond Search; Rescue Council (2008). "Black Diamond Search and Rescue Council". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  49. Blue and Gray Search and Rescue (January 2009). "Welcome to Blue and Gray Search and Rescue". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  50. Blue Ridge Mountain Rescue Group (February 2012). "Blue Ridge Mountain Rescue Group". Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  51. DOGS-East Search and Rescue (n.d.). "DOGS-East Search and Rescue". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  52. Greater Atlantic Rescue Dogs (2009). "Greater Atlantic Rescue Dogs". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  53. DeMarsh, Chris W. (2015). "Jefferson County Search Dog Association". Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  54. K-9 Alert Search and Rescue Dogs, Inc (n.d.). "K-9 Alert". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  55. piedmontsar.org (2009). "piedmontsar.org". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  56. Search and Rescue Dogs of Maryland (SARDOM) (2008). "SARDOM". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  57. Southwest Virginia Mountain Rescue Group (2013). "Southwest Virginia Mountain Rescue Group". Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  58. Tidewater Search and Rescue (2009). "Welcome to TSAR". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  59. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (2009). "Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  60. Virginia Marine Resources Commission (2009). "Virginia Marine Resources Commission". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  61. "Smith Point Sea Rescue". Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  62. "Eckerd College Search and Rescue". Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  63. Fairfax County Urban Search & Rescue (2009). "Welcome to VATF1.org". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  64. Virginia Task Force 2 (April 2009). "Virginia Task Force 2". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
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