Missouri FEMA & US&R

Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Hub

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State standards
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Coverage pending

This state isn't published yet. No directory, statutes, or dispatch numbers are available here.

For an active incident, contact the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction or the state or territorial emergency management agency directly.

This page is a framework

Request dispatch

Incident commander & agency dispatch

Authority having jurisdiction: US&R teams deploy only when the agency in charge of the incident asks for them, usually through the state when local resources run short. FEMA deploys the national task forces for federal missions; many sponsoring agencies also respond in their own state under state agreements.

Warning point Call Open state SAR portal

Quick reference: requesting a US&R team

General planning guidance. The requesting agency's plan and the responding team's typing govern what actually deploys.

Information the team will ask for:

  • Location and structures: address or coordinates, how many buildings are damaged, and how they are built (wood frame, masonry, concrete, steel).
  • People: how many people are believed trapped or missing, and where they were last known to be.
  • Hazards: gas, electricity, fire, hazardous materials, flooding and the risk of further collapse.
  • Contact: one person with a phone number or radio frequency, and where the team should stage.

FEMA task forces:

  • Type 1: 70 members, including search, rescue, medical, hazardous materials, logistics and planning staff, physicians, structural engineers and canine search teams.
  • Type 3: a Type 1 task force can split into two Type 3 task forces of 35 members to work around the clock in 12-hour shifts.
  • Water rescue: at least 14 members of each task force are trained for water rescue and can deploy as a water rescue package.
  • State and regional teams use their own typing. Ask what the team brings and how long it can work without resupply.

Getting ready for the team:

  • Staging: a secure area large enough for the team's vehicles and equipment cache, close to the work site.
  • Local knowledge: maps, building plans, utility contacts and anyone who knows who was inside.
  • One command: the team works for the incident commander; assign a liaison so assignments come through one channel.

Mutual aid workflow

    Requesting a team here

      Scene safety

      • Utilities first. Shut off gas and electricity to damaged buildings, with the utility company where possible.
      • Keep people out. Untrained rescuers inside damaged structures are a common cause of second victims.
      • Leave the markings. Teams spray-paint standard structure and search markings; do not remove or cover them.

      Who pays

      • Depends on how the team is requested: FEMA covers task forces it deploys; state and interstate (EMAC) deployments are reimbursed under those agreements.
      • Ask before launch which agreement applies and what the requesting agency must document.

      County resource density

      State US&R and coordination

      State teams and where a request is opened

      Local government air units

      Fire department and regional technical rescue teams

      Volunteer and nonprofit teams

      Groups that work under an agency's authority

      FEMA national task forces

      Federal US&R task forces based in this state

      Program statistics

      Recent deployments

      Live news search

      Opens a running news query for search and rescue activity in this state.

      Open news search

      Capability mix

      Share of registered assets by discipline.

      Governance and statutory authority

      State mutual aid guidelines

      The typing documents behind a request

      These documents set out how US&R teams are requested and what they are typed to do. Open a card for the summary and a link to the published source.

        No state guideline documents are indexed yet for this state.

        State statutes

        Authority for search and rescue in this state

        Federal frameworks

        These apply in every state

        Joining a US&R team

        The path for rescuers, specialists and canine teams

        Capabilities and qualifications

        CapabilityWhat the team doesWho provides it and the standardRecurrency

        Training resources

        National US&R and technical rescue references

        Field toolkit and admin

        Collapse safety, logs and federal coordination

        Structural collapse safety

        What to do before a US&R team arrives.

        • Stay out of damaged structures; control utilities.
        • List the missing and their last known locations.
        Open the full checklist

        Logging and volunteer registration

        Records that support after-action review, reimbursement and volunteer coverage:

        • Mission log recording teams, personnel, times, structures searched and results.
        • Unit activity log for after-action reporting and reimbursement.

        Requesting FEMA task forces

        How federal US&R support is requested.

        • Local to state to federal, through emergency management.
        • Interstate state teams: through EMAC.
        Open the full reference