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Welcome
to the website of the Rhode Island Urban Search & Rescue Task Force. This Task Force is a volunteer Urban Search And Rescue Team that is authorized by the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency. The team is capable of responding to terrorists incidents involving explosives as well as structural collapses caused by earthquakes, hurricanes, air crashes, and other natural or man-made disasters.
The goal in developing a local USAR team in Rhode Island, is so that RIEMA will be able to respond more quickly to major disasters than would be the case if we simply relied upon the Federal USAR teams. RIUSAR conforms to US&R Operational Procedures that were developed by FEMA. RIUSAR is a 70-person Task Force comprised of five major functional elements: Search, Rescue, Medical, Logistics, and Planning, including associated supervisory positions.
It is anticipated that each of the 70 positions on the Team will be staffed two-deep, thereby increasing overall Membership to 140 persons. RIUSAR is also capable of deploying a smaller 37 person team, or Speciality Teams, comensurate with the needs of the situation.
Urban search and rescue
refers to the search and rescue activities in and around collapsed buildings, particularly the collapse of large reinforced concrete structures. USAR teams consist of specially trained teams of search and rescue personnel, including canine teams, searchers with sophisticated search cams and listening devices, engineers trained to assess structural stability, highly trained rescue personnel, concrete breaching equipment, and doctors trained in treating those caught in a collapse.
