The Association

After the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, fire department officials including the late FDNY Special Operations Chief Ray Downey, realized a need for the expansion of urban search and rescue capabilities within New York State. That realization along with a lot of planning and hard work led to the formation of the Capital District Regional Response Team – Urban / Technical Search And Rescue group, also known as NYRRT-1. Many of the team members came from other emergency agencies such as fire departments and ambulance squads, while a few came from specialized backgrounds in such areas as hazardous materials, building construction and K-9 handling. Today, we are a fully functioning urban / technical search and rescue team ready to deploy on a moments notice. Our teams training and equipment come from the direct support of the New York State Office Of Fire Prevention And Control – Special Services Bureau. In complying with the National Incident Management System (NIMS), our official designation has been changed from New York Regional Response Team 1 (NYRRT-1) to New York Task Force 2 (NY-TF2).

At the same time our team’s operational goals were being set up with New York State Fire officials, our team’s members founded a separate non-profit organization to further the cause of urban search and rescue within New York State. That organizations name is The Capital District Urban / Technical Search And Rescue Association. All team members, with the exception of OFPC staff, are automatically association members, bound by the Bylaws of the association. Association meetings, facilitated by the president of the association, are held bi-monthly immediately following the official team meeting. A Board Of Directors oversees the association, which consists of the president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and a director. Our association and the rescue services we provide to the citizens of New York are 100% volunteer, so we could use your support. Donation checks, made payable to The Capital District Urban / Technical Search And Rescue Association, can me mailed to our official address listed on our Contributions Page. The Executive Committee, also known as the E-Board, is responsible for the operational and training side of the team. The E-Board consists of OFPC staff, the team leaders, team managers, association president and two elected team members.

As a reminder of the hard work and sacrifices that have been made to make this search and rescue team a reality, we wear the original Capital District Regional Response Team logo on the right sleeve of our uniforms. This logo, located on the top left of this web page, incorporates many significant things with respect to our team’s formation. The state of New York with the Capital District highlighted represents whom we protect and where we were founded. The rappelling rescuer represents the training and skills we need to make every rescue a success. And finally, the carabiner with the initials TM and the number 51 memorializes one of team’s founders, Chief Thomas McCormack of the Watervliet Fire Department, who made the ultimate sacrifice helping others.