Search and rescue in the United States explained

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

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 include other federal agencies that contain resources or expertise to support an emergency. Search and Rescue is included in ESF-9 and divides SAR into four primary elements while assigning a federal agency 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 has 85 current members and a 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]

State organizations

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]
• Urban Search and Rescue Pennsylvania Task Force 1

VirginiaVirginia 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 respond to and support 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:

• Amherst County Search and Rescue^[45]
• Appalachian Professional Tracking Group^[46]
• Appalachian Search and Rescue Conference^[47]
• Black Diamond Search and Rescue Council^[48]
• Blue and Gray Search and Rescue Dogs^[49]
• Blue Ridge Mountain Rescue Group^[50]
• DOGS-East Search and Rescue^[51]

• Greater Atlantic Rescue Dogs^[52]
• Jefferson County Search Dog Association^[53]
• K-9 Alert Search and Rescue^[54]
• Piedmont Search and Rescue^[55]
• Search and Rescue Dogs of Maryland^[56]
• Southwest Virginia Mountain Rescue Group^[57]
• Tidewater Search and Rescue^[58]

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]

External links

• National Association for Search and Rescue

Notes and References

1. Web site: Section ESF #9-1.
2. Web site: Committee F32 on Search and Rescue. 2008-02-24. O'Toole. Thomas F.. n.d..
3. Web site: National Association for Search and Rescue. 2009-11-06. National Association for Search and Rescue. November 2009.
4. Web site: National Association of Volunteer Search and Rescue Teams. 2009-11-06. National Association of Volunteer Search and Rescue Teams. 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090501044124/http://www.navsar.org/. 2009-05-01.
5. Web site: Alabama Association of Rescue Squads. alars.org. 20 July 2016.
6. Web site: Alabama Search and Rescue. alsar.gov. 2022-10-04.
7. Web site: Red Mountain Search Dog Association. rmsda.org. 2017-03-05.
8. Web site: SLOSAR. 2013-04-26. San Luis Obispo County Search and Rescue. April 2013.
9. Web site: BASARAC. 2009-12-10. Bay Area Search And Rescue Council. December 2009.
10. Web site: Marin County Search and Rescue. 2009-12-15. Marin County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue Team. December 2009.
11. Web site: Volunteer - Search and Rescue Units. 2009-10-22. San Mateo County. 2008.
12. Web site: San Diego Mountain Rescue Team. 2011-04-20. San Diego County. 2011.
13. Web site: Montrose Search and Rescue. www.montrosesar.org. 27 March 2020.
14. Web site: Altadena Mountain Rescue Team. www.amrt.org. 27 March 2020.
15. Web site: Home. www.smsr.org. 27 March 2020.
16. Web site: AV Search and Rescue. www.avsearchandrescue.com. 27 March 2020.
17. Web site: Malibu Search & Rescue (Malibu SAR) > Home. www.malibusar.or. 27 March 2020.
18. Web site: Santa Clarita Valley Search & Rescue Team. www.scvrescue.com. 27 March 2020.
19. Web site: San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team. sdmrt.com. 27 March 2020.
20. Web site: Mesa County Search and Rescue . mesacountysearchandrescue.org . 21 July 2021.
21. Web site: Michigan Search and Rescue . MISAR . August 19, 2020.
22. Web site: K-9 One. 6 April 2010. K-9 One SAR. n.d..
23. Web site: Missouri Task Force 1 organization . BCFPD . December 16, 2008.
24. Web site: New Jersey Task Force 1 organization . NJ-TF1 . November 27, 2017.
25. Web site: New Jersey Search and Rescue organization . NJ-TF1 . November 27, 2017.
26. Web site: New Mexico Search and Rescue Council.
27. Web site: Special Operations Unit. 8 March 2013. Westchester County Technical Rescue Team. 2012.
28. Web site: New York Search And Rescue. 8 March 2013. New York Search And Rescue. 2007.
29. Web site: Long Island Search and Rescue. 8 March 2013. Long Island Search and Rescue. 2012.
30. Web site: New York State Federation of Search and Rescue Teams. 8 March 2013. New York State Federation of Search and Rescue Teams. 2013.
31. Web site: Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue. 27 July 2016. Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue. 2016.
32. Web site: Rapid Assistance to Community Emergencies. 2010-12-24. Rapid Assistance to Community Emergencies. 2010.
33. Web site: East Penn Search and Rescue. 30 May 2020. 2020.
34. Web site: vaemergency.com. 2009-05-10. Virginia Department of Emergency Management. 2009.
35. Web site: Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Operations Plan . 2009-05-10. Virginia Department of Emergency Management. 2009.
36. Web site: Washington State Search and Rescue Volunteer Advisory Council (WA SARVAC) . 23 March 2022.
37. Web site: Jefferson Search and Rescue – Jefferson County, Washington . 23 March 2022.
38. Web site: King County Search And Rescue Our volunteers bring people home to their loved ones. . 23 March 2022.
39. Web site: Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue . SCVSAR . 23 March 2022.
40. Web site: Spokane County Search and Rescue Spokane County, WA . www.spokanecounty.org . 23 March 2022.
41. Web site: Pierce County Search and Rescue Council Pierce County Search and Rescue Council . www.pc-sar-council.org . 23 March 2022.
42. Web site: wasar . 23 March 2022.
43. Web site: Virginia Wing Headquarters Civil Air Patrol. 2009-05-10. Virginia Wing, Civil Air Patrol]authorlink = . 2003.
44. Web site: Aviation Unit. 2009-05-10. Virginia Department of State Police. 2009.
45. Web site: Amherst County Search and Rescue. 2009-05-10. Amherst County Search and Rescue. n.d..
46. Web site: Appalachian Professional Tracking Group, Inc.. 2009-05-10. Burleson. Randall C.. 2009.
47. Web site: Welcome to ASRC. 2009-05-10. Appalachian Search . Rescue Conference . n.d..
48. Web site: Black Diamond Search and Rescue Council. 2009-05-10. Black Diamond Search . Rescue Council . 2008.
49. Web site: Welcome to Blue and Gray Search and Rescue. 2009-05-10. Blue and Gray Search and Rescue. January 2009.
50. Web site: Blue Ridge Mountain Rescue Group. 2012-02-05. Blue Ridge Mountain Rescue Group. February 2012.
51. Web site: DOGS-East Search and Rescue. 2009-05-10. DOGS-East Search and Rescue. n.d..
52. Web site: Greater Atlantic Rescue Dogs. 2009-05-10. Greater Atlantic Rescue Dogs. 2009.
53. Web site: Jefferson County Search Dog Association. 2015-12-13. DeMarsh. Chris W.. 2015.
54. Web site: K-9 Alert. 2009-05-10. K-9 Alert Search and Rescue Dogs, Inc. n.d..
55. Web site: piedmontsar.org . 2009-05-10. piedmontsar.org . 2009.
56. Web site: SARDOM. 2009-05-10. Search and Rescue Dogs of Maryland (SARDOM). 2008.
57. Web site: Southwest Virginia Mountain Rescue Group. 2014-01-03. Southwest Virginia Mountain Rescue Group. 2013.
58. Web site: Welcome to TSAR. 2009-05-10. Tidewater Search and Rescue. 2009.
59. Web site: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. 2009-05-10. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. 2009.
60. Web site: Virginia Marine Resources Commission. 2009-05-10. Virginia Marine Resources Commission. 2009.
61. Web site: Smith Point Sea Rescue. 2010-05-03.
62. Web site: Eckerd College Search and Rescue . 2013-05-20.
63. Web site: Welcome to VATF1.org. 2009-05-10. Fairfax County Urban Search & Rescue. 2009.
64. Web site: Virginia Task Force 2. 2009-05-10. Virginia Task Force 2. April 2009.