| MO-TF1 Join |
| Dear Prospective Task Force Member:
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| You are considering making application for membership to Missouri Task Force 1, Missouri’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force. Let me thank you in advance for your consideration.
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| As you will see from the website information, the efforts to develop and maintain Missouri Task Force 1 have been and continue to be significant. To be a functional member of American’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force System, an incredible amount of work and commitment is required. Present members of our Task Force have made that commitment and, as a result of their efforts, Missouri’s Task Force has grown very quickly to be a highly capable and proficient Urban Search and Rescue resource.
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| It is important to understand that membership in the Task Force is taken very seriously. These resources may be called upon at any time to perform highly intensive, stressful and dangerous missions. As a member of an urban search and rescue task force deployed to a catastrophic event, you will be called upon to engage the most graphic, demanding, dangerous and heavily scrutinized challenge you will, potentially, ever undertake. To perform these missions efficiently and safely requires an extremely high level of expertise and confidence. In reviewing the information, you will find that the training and participation requirements are extensive. The training regimen is strict and the participation requirements are critical to the development of teamwork. In short, we need legitimate participants who are willing to meet and exceed the minimum requirements to insure our long-term effectiveness, team continuity and stability under the worst of conditions. We will accept nothing less.
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| I hope that the information contained herein is helpful and thorough. Prior to making application it is our hope that you have as much information as possible and that all of your questions are answered. Should you need further information regarding any of the issues surrounding participation in the Task Force, please don’t hesitate to contact the Task Force office.
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| Again, we thank you for your consideration and look forward to receiving your application for membership in Missouri’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force.
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| Sincerely,
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Steve Paulsell
Chief – Sponsoring Agency
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Who can apply?
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| Applicants for the position of Task Force member must be 18 years of age and should be in good physical and mental health. Task Force members shall not have any medical condition that would inhibit their ability to perform arduous work in an austere environment. Applicants should have a particular skill or ability that makes them of value to the Task Force. In addition, applicants should have a high school diploma or equivalent. You must possess a current driver’s license, have a good driving record, no criminal record and either own or have access to a dependable vehicle.
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| It is not necessary to be a resident of Boone County or the State of Missouri to be a member of the Task Force. However, due to deployment requirements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, all Task Force members should be able to arrive either in Columbia or at Whitman Air Force Base in western Missouri within four hours of notification for deployment.
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| You do not have to be a career or volunteer firefighter to be a member of the Task Force. In fact, nearly on-half of the team is derived from non-rescue disciplines such as structural engineers and logisticians.
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Where are Task Force members from?
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| Most Task Force members are from Central Missouri with less than 40% from the Boone County Fire District. We have canine specialists from Kansas City, suburban St. Louis and Springfield. Rescue specialists are from Columbia, Kansas City and St. Louis. Physicians, nurses and paramedics are staff members at the University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics. Structural engineers come from the private industry and public sector. Missouri Task Force 1 is truly a volunteer force. Its strongest asset is the diversity of team members.
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How do I apply?
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| You are required to file your application with the Boone County Fire Protection District, the sponsoring agency for the Task Force. You may submit your application in person, by mail or by applying on-line via this website by going to the “want to join” icon. Applications are reviewed monthly and selections made based on position availability.
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| A panel of Task Force members reviews your application. You will then be asked to complete an interview with that panel. After that process, a decision will be made based upon the current needs of the Task Force. If accepted, you will be provided with the mandatory training schedule to bring you up to the minimum Task Force preparation level. With your application, please attach all applicable certifications and training certificates or records to support the application.
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| The Task Force will conduct an investigation into your background. Due to the sensitive nature of the work, selection to the Task Force requires careful review. Should you have a criminal record, other than minor traffic violations, you application may be denied.
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What benefits will I receive?
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| The Task Force is strictly a voluntary commitment and no personal time compensation is provided for training or mobilization exercises. All of your training and equipment is provided. All you provide is the time and effort to become qualified.
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| The personal protective equipment you will be issued is yours for the period you are with the Task Force. Should you leave, the equipment must be returned. The cost to completely outfit a team member is nearly $1,500. To support you during deployment, the Task Force provides for all your personal needs such as meals and housing. Additionally, Workers’ Compensation and liability coverage is provided to Task Force members while engaged in Task Force activities.
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| When deployed under direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Task Force members are paid on a set scale according to their duties and responsibilities. In addition, should you have to take time off from your work, your employer will be compensated to back fill your position with another employee during your Federal deployment (above and beyond your normal salary). There are no provisions such as this for an in-state deployment. Your activation in-state will be a voluntary commitment with no salary or employer back-fill reimbursement.
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| Finally, the greatest benefit to you is the ability to learn new skills and become part of one of only 27 highly trained, motivated and deployable Urban Search & Rescue Task Forces in the United States.
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How will I be trained?
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| Your initial and advanced training will depend, in part, on which portion of the team you are assigned. You will be required to undergo minimum levels of training. Some of these can be waived if you have undergone previous training that meets the FEMA Task Force guidelines. The minimum training requirements are contained in this website.
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How much time does it take to be a Task Force member?
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| Upon completion of the initial Task force training, you will be assigned to a specific position within one of four teams on the Task Force. These teams meet throughout the year at different intervals. The Search Team meets the third weekend of every odd month; the Rescue Team meets quarterly for a full weekend; the Medical Team meets the second Tuesday of every month; and members of specialty disciplines within the Technical Team meet either monthly, every other month or quarterly. During these meetings, training updates are presented and various work assignments are performed.
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| In addition to the team meetings/training sessions, three deployment exercises are conducted each year, which involve two or three days depending on the location of the drill. In 1997, three deployment exercises were conducted; two were conducted in Boone County area and were two days in length. The other exercises were conducted in concert with the United States Air Force at a military base in Oklahoma and were a three day mission.
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| In addition to the deployment exercises, there are periodic “work sessions” which involve a day or two and generally surround the repackaging of the equipment and supply cache. These sessions typically involve the technical team managers, logisticians and specific member from other teams as needed.
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What can I expect as a Task Force member?
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| Time, effort and professionalism are three words which best describe Task Force membership. As of January 1, 2000, nearly 90,000 training and equipment preparation hours had been expended in preparing the Task Force and its members for a response. As a FEMA disaster resource, Missouri Task Force 1 is structured according to set Federal organizational guidelines. Once selected, you will be assigned to one of five areas within the team; administrative (Task Force Leader, Safety or Planning), Search Team (Canine and Technical Search), Rescue Team (Rescue Specialists), Medical Team (Physicians, Nurses and Paramedics) or Technical Team (Structural Engineers, Heavy Riggers, Hazardous Materials Specialists, Technical Information, Logisticians and Communications Specialists).
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| The Task Force deploys with 62 persons, two for each position. This allows the Task Force to function around the clock with 31 persons on duty and 31 persons off duty. The Task Force is completely self-sufficient, so when deployed, no strain is placed on the affected community. Over 16,400 pieces of high and low technical equipment are part of the disaster response. Everything from search cameras and borescopes to locate trapped victims to portable toilets, toothpaste and sleeping bags are sent with the Task Force.
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| Once assigned to a particular team, you begin accumulating the necessary minimum training for deployment qualification. In addition to group classes that other Task Force members attend, such as incident command systems or hazardous materials, you receive team specific training.
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