West Metro Fire Rescue is the sponsoring agency for the Colorado-based Federal Emergency Management Agency Urban Search & Rescue Task Force. This task force is made up of 70 positions and responds to disasters to look for and rescue people who are trapped in urban settings, like building collapses. 

Colorado Task Force One, COTF-1, has over 200 highly trained members. Members include firefighters, paramedics, physicians, structural engineers, hazardous materials technicians, heavy rigging specialists, and canine handlers. The Task Force must be totally self-sufficient for the first 72 hours of a deployment.

Task Force Capabilities 

• Physical search and rescue operations in damaged/collapsed structures
• Emergency medical care for entrapped victims, task force personnel, and search dogs
• Conduct damage and needs assessments and provide information to local, state, and federal officials
• Assessment and control of gas and electric service to affected structures
• Hazardous materials evaluation
• Evaluation of the structural hazards in support of rescue operations
• Stabilization of damaged structures

Colorado Task Force One is made up of personnel representing 28 public and private organizations in Colorado.

Download the Task Force Fact Sheet