USAR Task Force

The Murrieta Fire Department is committed to providing residents with access to the best and most-advanced rescue techniques and equipment. As such, six of the Department’s professional firefighters are Federal Emergency Management Agency-certified as Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team members. They serve the larger community as part of California Task Force 6, supervised by the Riverside City Fire Department and comprised of representatives from several inland empire fire agencies. The USAR team members regularly train with other agencies for rapid deployment to local, regional, and national incidents. Recent activations of USAR Task Force 6 include a team of five that aided the Gulf Coast region of Louisiana for three weeks following Hurricane Katrina and the reactivation of the team just three days after returning from New Orleans to help with Hurricane Rita.

The Murrieta Fire Department’s involvement with the USAR task force is part of our ongoing commitment to provide quality service to the citizens of Murrieta and the larger community. Most deployments to federal disasters are reimbursable through FEMA and the benefits of having such highly trained search and rescue professionals are immeasurable.