Texas Task Force 1 featured in exhibit at the State Capitol

Texas Task Force 1 will be featured in an exhibit at the State Capitol the week of Sept. 10 in Austin. The exhibit is open to the public and coordinated by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, which sponsors the state and federal urban search and rescue team.

The exhibit will be located in the basement level of the Capitol Rotunda. It will feature tools and equipment the team uses as well as photos from the team’s 80 deployments. The photos are from the book, Texas Task Force 1,
by Bud Force.

Formed in 1997, TX-T1 is the most deployed urban search and rescue team in the country. The team has responded to at least one major disaster each year, including the World Trade Center, Shuttle Columbia disaster, and Hurricanes Katrina and Ike. The team just returned from a FEMA deployment to Louisiana for Hurricane Isaac.

On Tuesday, Sept. 11, the anniversary of 9/11, short presentations about TX-TF1 will be made by the Texas Chief of Emergency Management, Nim Kidd, and TEEX Director Gary Sera.

Among the items on display will be a beam from the World Trade Center on loan from the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station.