4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team - Sarasota County Urban Search & Rescue Recovery K-9

4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team Mission Statement

Dedication– Perseverance – Service – “Responding Together, So Others May Live”

4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team is committed to using all of the resources at their disposal to assist in disasters and to locate and rescue lost and missing persons. Our mission is carried out through the use of the expertise and technology at the disposal of our department of dedicated specialists, always with attention paid to the safety of all parties involved. Further, it is our intent to educate the public and private sector and to help them in developing an understanding of what search and rescue is, how not to get lost and how to handle a disaster situation.

When a person is lost or endangered or when a disaster occurs, seconds can mean the difference between life and death. Fortunately, there is available, a dedicated group of search and rescue and disaster response specialists.

4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team has a primary response area which consists of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, however, the Strike Team may respond to missions in other areas if requested.

When search and rescue, disaster response or educational expertise is sought, Gulf Coast 4/6 Urban Search & Rescue Disaster Response Strike Team is ready to travel. The Disaster Response Strike Team is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, with a volunteer contingent of specially trained specialists. Services include but are not limited to:

• wilderness search and rescue

• urban search and rescue

• light collapsed structure search and rescue

• Swift Water

• Cave In

• Dive Rescue

• cadaver search

. evidence search

. K-9 Search Teams

• criminal tracking/trailing

• animal rescue in disasters

• critical incident stress management – this team may be placed on standby or activated for incidents in your jurisdiction, utilizing our personnel that are CISM Specialists and Psychologists

• disaster assessment

• Community Emergency Response Team, which may be placed on standby or activated for storms, floods, disasters, etc. in your jurisdiction, utilizing our personnel that are trained FEMA Community Emergency Response Teams and weather spotters by the National Weather Service

• educational classes (FEMA Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), First Aid, CPR, FEMA emergency response to terrorism, defensive driving, child survival in the wilderness, search and rescue and more!)

• educational displays at your special event

4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team commitment to search and rescue shows clearly as the Disaster Response Strike Team and/or our specialists are members of numerous organizations including:

•Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Association

•National Association for Search and Rescue

•International Critical Incident Stress Foundation

•Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “CERT” Program

•United States Department of Homeland Security

•United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

•United States National Search and Rescue School

•National Fire Academy

•National Volunteer Fire Council

•Fire Department Safety Officers Association

•Radio Emergency Associated Communication Teams

•Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership

•Florida State Fire College

•Department of Defense Fire and EMS

•Louisiana State Fire Academy “LSU”

•Texas A&M TEEX

•Firefighter Association State of New York

•New York State Federation of Search and Rescue Teams

•New York State Fire Chiefs Association

•American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers

•Association of the United States Army

•National Association of Chiefs of Police

•National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians

•International Association of Fire Chiefs

•American Association of Trauma Specialists

Combining the resources of 4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team with other organizations via mutual aid agreements, allows us to provide unsurpassed services and resources to serve other agencies, the public, and of course, the victims that we work for.

4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team has extensive department resources include cellular telephones, VHF-FM radios for immediate dispatch of department personnel, canines consisting of both air-scent and ground tracking, all terrain vehicles, global positioning systems, laptop computers, night vision, heat seeking and hearing amplification equipment, and medical teams consisting of first-aid and CPR trained personnel, first responders, emergency medical technicians, nurses and physicians as well as Critical Incident Stress Management Team with CISM specialists and licensed therapist and, our specially trained Disaster Response Strike Team Specialist.

When a Disaster Response Strike Team Specialist is dispatched to your location, you can expect an expert with a minimum of 5 years of public safety service (at least 2 years in search and rescue) and a minimum of 350 hours of training in numerous related search and rescue and disaster related topics including certification in Search Management and Critical Incident Stress Management.

4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team Specialists are trained not only in search skills, but also land navigation, logistics, search resource allocation and, the Disaster Response Strike Team maintains a historical data base of lost person behaviors. Gulf Coast 4/6 Urban Search & Rescue Disaster Response Strike Team can assist with risk assessment, resource needs projections, mutual aid planning and immediate steps to be taken as standard procedures pending the arrival of the search and rescue strike team.

4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team has within our department numerous Search Managers (MSO/NSARS) who are certified as such by the State and/or the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Coast Guard or National Association for Search And Rescue. Training programs in areas such as Basic Search and Rescue Operations, Managing Search Operations, Emergency Response to Terrorism, FEMA Community Emergency Response Team and others are also offered.

To answer any questions that you may have, the Disaster Strike Team 4/6 you can Email Us.

It should be noted that the 4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team does not charge for emergency services to the community and, unlike the majority of search and rescue organizations, is liability insured.

4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team is a private not-for-profit agency which is a state and federally recognized rescue, disaster response and educational department comprised of dedicated volunteers, and operates similar to a volunteer rescue or fire department in-so-far as dispatch, structure and operations.

In support of our mission statement, we search for and rescue lost persons, provide disaster response and relief and educate the general public and public safety agencies on various related topics. Disaster Strike Team 4/6 is not a branch of the U.S. Government or any State Government, but rather serves as a mutual aid organization responding directly to local, state and federal agencies requesting assistance for the specialized expertise that we provide.

Please be aware that the sooner we respond to a lost person emergency, the better the chances to locate that person are. And, the sooner that we locate the victim and expedite them to medical facilities, the better their chances are for survival. In the winter weather this is even more critical and, an immediate dispatch is essential!

For immediate dispatch of the 4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team the following contact information should be utilized:

Emergency Dispatch – (941- 786-6565)

When dispatched, 4/6 regional Disaster Response Strike Team responds to your request for assistance and is committed to:

“RESPONDING TOGETHER, SO OTHERS MAY LIVE”

4/6 Regional Disaster Response Strike Team is made up of Personal from Organizations across 13 states in 4/6 Region of the Gulf Coast.