LACoFD: CA-TF2 USAR EVALUATED BY UN TEAM (INSARAG)

Saturday, May 19, 2012

LACoFD: CA-TF2 USAR EVALUATED BY UN TEAM (INSARAG)

URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM EVALUATED

FOR INTERNATIONAL DEPLOYMENT AS “HEAVY TEAM”

WHO: Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue Team (CALIFORNIA TASK FORCE 2) known internationally as USA-2

An eight-member multinational evaluation team from the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), operating under the United Nations umbrella and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

WHEN: Sunday May 20, 2012, 9:00am- 12:00pm

WHERE: Del Valle Regional Training Center – TB 4549 C-3
28101 Chiquito Canyon Road, Castaic, CA 91383-4640

WHAT: The Los Angeles County Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue Team will undergo an evaluation of its ability to mobilize, deploy, and operate in a manner consistent with the United Nations International Search and Rescue criteria.
The evaluation will be conducted by a United Nations-appointed classification team who will score the operation based on standards adopted by the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG).
These standards classify international rescue teams based on their capacity and capability to perform sustained rescue operations. The high standard that is maintained by the LACoFD/USAR team is referred to as a “Heavy Team” classification. LACoFD public information officers will be available to facilitate media tours from 9:00am-12:00pm.

CONTACT: Please direct all inquiries to the Public affairs office at 323-881-2411.

California Fire News 2011

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Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Saturday, May 19, 2012