Sunday, April 26, 2015

Los Angeles County Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue Team Members Deploy to Nepal Earthquake Disaster

A View of the California Task Force 2 Team at work in Haiti.

The 57-member USA- 2 (California Task Force 2) Medium Urban Search and Rescue team is deploying today to assist the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) with rescue and  recovery efforts in Nepal following its 7.9 magnitude Earthquake and Disaster.

The Team is departing Los Angeles this afternoon for Nepal. They are expected to arrive into Kathmandu on Monday, April 27th.

USA -2(California Task Force 2) has partnerships with Federal Emergency Management Agency for domestic response and the United States Agency for International Development/Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance during international missions. As a part of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, USA- 2 (CA-TF2) maintains constant operational readiness for international deployments and as a local resource for residents of Los Angeles County and the Southern California area.

Upon request of the Government of Nepal, the United States has deployed a USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), including the Los Angeles County Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR). The USAR component of the DART is what is called a “Medium team,” with 57 specialized personnel and with 57 specialized personnel and all necessary equipment to make live rescues from collapsed structures and confined spaces.