FE Volume 148 Issue 11

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Designing Terrorist-Resistant Buildings

Designing Terrorist-Resistant Buildings

Terrorist bombings, until recently, primarily were thought to occur in the Middle East, South America, England, and Ireland. Even after the World Trade Center Bombing in February 1993, most observers believed terrorist attacks in the United States would be a one-time event. Headlines describing a radical fundamentalist group striking a major city landmark did not cause much concern for the rest of the country. In fact, only major coastal cities seemed concerned enough to prepare for terrorist at
FirefightingStructural Firefighting
Supporting a Fractured Building

Supporting a Fractured Building

A tremendous amount of shoring was erected throughout the Murrah Building`s fragile structure. Much of it was erected during the first days of the operation; however, shores were continually erected or improved throughout. They were used to protect members operating in dangerous areas and to stabilize the building`s remaining structural elements. In some areas, debris had to be removed before shores could be erected. (The base on which the shoring is assembled must be able to support the load be
FirefightingStructural Firefighting
“Engineering” the Collapse: Making the Structure Safe

“Engineering” the Collapse: Making the Structure Safe

Each FEMA USAR task force has six specially trained civil/structural engineers, two of whom deploy with the team in any six-hour period. These volunteer engineers, called "structural specialists (S. Spec.)" are required to attend a one-week special course developed by the Army Corps of Engineers in addition to normal USAR training. The objective of the Corps course is to familiarize the S. Spec. with the disaster environment. Among the information presented in the course is that USAR most often
FirefightingStructural Firefighting
The Response of Virginia Task Force 1: A Medical Perspective

The Response of Virginia Task Force 1: A Medical Perspective

BY CRAIG DeATLEY, PA-C, EMT-P; ANTHONY G. MACINTYRE, M.D.; DEWEY H. PERKS, EMT-P; and JOSEPH A. BARBERA, M.D., FACEP
Fire EMSFirefighting

More FE Volume 148 Issue 11

The Work of a Task Force: Dismantling a Dying Building

The Work of a Task Force: Dismantling a Dying Building

At 1500 hours on April 20, FEMA`s USAR Virginia Task Force-2 (VA TF-2) arrived at Tinker Air Force Base and received a situation briefing on the tarmac. In a nutshell, we were told the building was devastated almost beyond comprehension. There were still probably more than 100 victims trapped inside. The two initial teams at the site, Phoenix and Sacramento, had been working for about nine hours, involved mostly in search operations, shoring, and debris removal. We were advised that a 15-year-ol
Firefighter TrainingSearch Operations
Creating a Road Map for Body Recovery

Creating a Road Map for Body Recovery

The first members of the Region 6 Disaster Mortuary Team (D-MORT) to be activated for response to Oklahoma City were funeral directors, who were needed to process the anticipated number of victims. I was later activated to assist in pinpointing the locations of the victims. Todd Ellis, also a D-MORT team member, and I were assigned to help establish the victims` approximate locations, using blueprints of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building as the basis for our master list of missing victims.
HazmatTechnical Rescue
Task Force Operations: An Overview

Task Force Operations: An Overview

Approximately five years after its inception, the urban search and rescue component of the federal government`s national disaster response system was put to its greatest test--the Alfred P. Murrah Building Bombing in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.
Firefighter Training
USAR IST: Providing Search and Rescue Support in Oklahoma City

USAR IST: Providing Search and Rescue Support in Oklahoma City

Shortly after 0900 hours PST on April 19, 1995, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) organized and dispatched one of its Urban Search and Rescue Incident Support Teams (IST) in response to the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The IST was needed to coordinate and manage the several incoming National Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Task Forces activated to assist in the rescue efforts at the Murrah Building.
Firefighter TrainingSearch Operations
Interior Operations: “The Pit”

Interior Operations: “The Pit”

I arrived in Oklahoma City as part of FEMA`s USAR Incident Support Team (IST). A plan of action was developed jointly to integrate the task forces into the search and rescue efforts of the Oklahoma City (OK) Fire Department (OCFD) and assisting agencies.
Technical Rescue
Vulnerability Of Buildings to Bombs: Additional Thoughts After Oklahoma City

Vulnerability Of Buildings to Bombs: Additional Thoughts After Oklahoma City

In February 1993, a large terrorist bomb was detonated two stories belowground in a parking garage at the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City. This detonation caused six deaths and more than 1,000 injuries. It also exposed many people inside and outside of the fire protection community to high-energy physical phenomena and their potential to cause property damage, injury, and death uncharacteristic of the vast majority of building fires.
Building ConstructionFire Safety
Medical Aspects of Urban Search and Rescue

Medical Aspects of Urban Search and Rescue

BY JOSEPH A. BARBERA, M.D., FACEP; CRAIG DeATLEY, PA-C, EMT-P; ANTHONY G. MACINTYRE, M.D.; and DEWEY H. PERKS, EMT-P
Technical Rescue
Memorial Service at Bombing Site May 5, 1995

Memorial Service at Bombing Site May 5, 1995

The sound of drums and bagpipes echoed off the windowless Journal Record Building at 1:56, and the band approached from the southeast, rounding the corner of the building at a slow cadence. As the pipers played "Amazing Grace," a dozen men and women in different uniforms placed a large wreath in front of the shrine. They formed a circle, holding hands, a National Guardsman in camouflage and a firefighter in an orange-billed cap flanking a blond FBI agent. The pipes echoed through the building`s
Firefighting

USAR Task Force Logistics

Technical Rescue

GIS Support

Firefighting Equipment

USAR Communications

HazmatTechnical Rescue

FE Volume 148 Issue 11

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