Gov. Rick Perry has authorized the deployment of specialized search and rescue resources from Texas Task Force 1 (TX-TF1) to deploy to Joplin, MO. The personnel and canines will assist local responders in the continuing search for victims of Sunday’s devastating tornado.

Fifteen agencies recently participated in a realistic, full-scale exercise (FSE)at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey’s Bus Terminal in Manhattan. The realistic FSE focused on practicing interagency response protocols developed through many months of planning meetings and exercises conducted by the Port Authority with assistance from TEEX.

With ongoing violence overseas, international catastrophes and the recent outbreak of devastating weather events, Texas’ elite search and rescue team – Texas Task Force 1 (TX-TF1) – will hone its skills in preparation for future responses by participating in a Full-Scale Exercise (FSE) this weekend in Disaster City® in College Station, TX.

Update: Texas Task Force 1 has received notice from FEMA to stand down as of 5 p.m. today. FEMA has confirmed with officials in Alabama and Georgia that US&R assets will not be needed.
Texas Task Force 1 had been placed on alert for possible deployment by FEMA in the wake of tornadoes that swept through the Southeast yesterday.

The Interface Ecology Lab in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering has designed the Team Coordination Game (TeC) to improve the safety of emergency responders and those they serve by studying firefighters at the Brayton Firefighter Training Field.

A group of Texas Task Force 1 (TX-TF1) helicopter search and rescue technicians and Texas Military Forces UH-60 helicopter pilots and crew chiefs recently held a joint monthly training session at Camp Bullis in San Antonio.

The PATH train station located below One World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial were the focus of a simulated crisis last week at TEEX’s Emergency Operations Training Center (EOTC). The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey brought 47 first responders and emergency management officials to College Station, Texas, to participate in an incident management exercise.

Officials from the West Midlands, U.K., Fire and Rescue visited TEEX Disaster Preparedness and Response recently, where they were able to observe a mobilization of Texas Task Force 1, which was staged in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex for the Super Bowl.

Robots and researchers from Japan, the United States and the U.S. military will converge on Disaster City® in College Station, Texas, on Tuesday, March 8, to conduct two days of underground mine rescue and tunnel exploration experiments.

The city and county of Los Angeles have tapped TEEX to help them train and prepare approximately 150 emergency responders who will form four Incident Management Teams to serve approximately 14 million Los Angeles area residents. The jurisdictional Enhanced Incident Management/Unified Command training program is conducted at TEEX’s Emergency Operations Training Center (EOTC) in College Station.