Texas Task Force 1 Type 3 Team Activated

COLLEGE STATION – The Texas Division of Emergency Management activated Texas Task Force 1 (TX-TF1) Urban Search and Rescue Team – Type 3 Team this afternoon (5.11.2015).

The Type 3, 35-member team, which includes Technical and Canine Search and Rescue components as well as Swiftwater Rescue personnel and equipment, will assist the State as requested.

Over the weekend, Texas Task Force 1 rescue swimmers, working with Texas Military Forces in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, performed multiple rescues, including an infant, from rooftops and stranded vehicles as flood waters rose in North Texas.

Who is TX-TF1?

TX-TF1 is sponsored by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) and has deployed over 90 times since 1997, including the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy; Sept. 11th World Trade Center attack; the explosion in West, TX; Moore, OK, tornado; and Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike. TX-TF1 can be activated by the Texas Division of Emergency Management or as one of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) 28 sanctioned urban search and rescue teams.

Members of TX-TF1 range from firefighters and medical personnel, to structural engineers, and respond from jurisdictions within a 4-hour travel time from College Station. The Task Force consists of three separate teams of 70 members each, and these teams rotate on a monthly basis.

Texas Task Force 1 Website: www.texastaskforce1.org/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/txtf1