1. When major disasters happen,
US&R Task Forces rapidly
respond. The priorities of the
Structures Specialist (StS) are:
• Reduce the risk of further collapse to
responders and victims by hazard
mitigation.
• Provide monitoring of damaged
building structures
• Support to heavy equipment and
rigging operations.
• Create egress and safe havens for
rescuers and victims throughout rescue
operations.
• Advise Incident Commander of the
various risks with regards to proposed
rescue operations.
Above:
Oklahoma City,
Structure
Specialist Duties
Left: New York,
Monitoring,
mitigation,
augmentation of
FEMA US&R
Task Forces
Who We've Trained:
• All DHS/FEMA US&R Structures
Specialists.
• All USACE US&R Structures
Specialists.
• State and Regional US&R Structures
Specialists.
• International US&R Structures
Specialists.
• Military (911th Technical Rescue
Engineering Co., Marine CB/RF, General
Purpose "Troops") and Horizontal and
Vertical Engineering companies.
• US&R Participants at the National Level
Exercises.
• Participants of Disaster Response
Exercise and Exchange (DREE),
numerous in Southeast Asia.
• Eastern European Multi-National
Exercise participants.
Points of Contact:
Thomas R. Niedernhofer, P.E.
Ph: (415) 503-6616
Thomas.r.niedernhofer@usace.army.mil
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Urban Search and Rescue
Program
Structures
Specialists
Cadre
Provide expert technical advice and
support for Commanders, Troops and Task
Force Leaders during collapse incidents
and disaster response mission by
rescue-trained Structural Engineers.
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1 1
I 1 1 • South Pacific Division
BUILDING STRONG
and Taking Care of People!

2. The USACE US&R Program
• Deploys specially trained and equipped Structural Engineers or "Structures Specilaist" (StS) to augment the DHSIFEMA US&R Task
Forces and Incident Support Teams, Military Technical Rescue entities, and General Purpose Troops during structural collapse incidents
and other life saving disaster response missions.
• This "rescue engineering" capability provides technical support and advice to Task Force Leaders and Military Commanders to assess
damage, mitigate hazards, enable safe entry, and assure mobility throughout a disaster site to enable rescue and lifesaving operations.
• Responsible for developing doctrine, training programs, and national standards for structural collapse response operations, conducts
initial training courses, advanced coursework, exercises and continuing education for all DHSIFEMA US&R Structures Specialists and other
organizations requiring this capability.
• Maintains specialized, pre-positioned, deployable Equipment Caches to support US&R/Disaster Response operations.
Description of Duties
The Structures Specialist is responsible for:
• Assessing the immediate structural
condition of the affected area of Task Force
operations, which includes identifying
structure types, specific damage and
structural hazards.
• Recommending the appropriate type and
amount of structural hazard mitigation in
order to minimize risks on site to task force
personnel.
• Cooperating with and assisting other
search and rescue resources.
• Monitoring assigned structures for
condition changes while rescue and recovery
operations are proceeding.
• Assuming an active role in implementing
approved structural hazard mitigation as a
designer, inspector, and possibly a
supervisor.
Additional Mission Capabilities
• Provides Structures Specialist and
Structure Collapse training for the Military.
• Participates in training and mobilization
exercises.
• Provides technical support to FBI, DEA,
ATF, NIST, and other Federal Agencies during
responses.
• Provides technical assistance to local
jurisdictions regarding rescue missions.
• Engages in International responses and
exercises when requested.
Where we are:
• The StS Cadre consists of Engineers from
multiple Divisions, Districts, Labs, and HQ.
The StS are divided into three Strike Teams
(Red, White, and Blue) that maintain on-call
readiness.
• The Cadre maintains three prepositioned
Structures Specialists equipment caches in
the eastern, central and western
regions of the United States to
enable rapid deployment to
support life saving operations.
Field Operations Guide (FOG)
Where We've Been:
The USACE Urban Search and
Rescue Program was launched as a result of
lessons learned in 1985 during U.S. assis-
tance to the Great Mexico City Earthquake,
and the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989.
These earthquakes served as a "wakeup call"
to the threats structural collapse poses to re-
sponders and victims. The USACE StS Cadre
has responded to events such as:• Coordinating and communicating the fl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~!!!!!!
structural related hazard mitigation
with /ST Structural Unit Leader.
.-~=="':!':'~:""':== North Ridge Earth Quake, CA - 1994
• Accountability, maintenance, and
minor repairs for all issued equipment.
• Adhering to all safety procedures.
Oklahoma City Bombing, OK - 1995
World Trade Center 9111, NY- 2001
Berkman Parking Garage Collapse, 2007
Haiti Earthquake, 2010
New Zealand Christ Church Earthquake, 2011
Numerous Hurricanes, CONUS 2006- 2013
National Special Security Events (NSSE)