Phoenix Urban Search and Rescue Team to Receive Special Deputation

Phoenix, AZ On September 6, 2006, 24 members of an elite Phoenix Police search and rescue team, working in partnership with Phoenix Fire Departments Urban Search and Rescue unit, will receive special deputation from the United States Marshals Service to assist in carrying out their mission. U.S. Marshal David P. Gonzales and Mayor Phil Gordon will be hosting the ceremony. The police officers are part of the Phoenix Fire Departments Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue System. This team is 1 of 28 Task Forces in the U.S. specializing in urban search and rescue, disaster recovery, and emergency triage and medicine. The teams are deployed to emergency and disaster sites, such as Hurricane Katrina and the World Trade Center, within six hours of notification. The Team works as liaisons with the different Law Enforcement Agencies wherever they are deployed. They help eliminate the barriers between fire and police personnel in various parts of the nation and help facilitate the successful conclusion to any event encountered. The Phoenix Urban Search and Rescue Team is now viewed as a model for all urban search and rescue units across the country and is the only team in the nation that local police officers are sworn as Deputy Marshals to protect firefighters and provide liaison with local law enforcement. The deputation allows the Phoenix Police Officers to travel through out the U.S. armed and provides federal authority when necessary.