North Carolina Strike Force 1.
Ever heard of that entity?
They were the state’s first Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team, organized in the late 1990s. They were conceived as a regional technical rescue team that was based in Forsyth and Davidson counties.
They were incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2000, and renamed from “Strike Force” to “Task Force” in May 2000. Two years later, they shortened their name to NCTF-1.
But wait, Batman, the state-sponsored USAR task forces weren’t created until 2003. What’s the story here?
Thanks to some readers and a recent discussion on social media, here’s a history of the organization, as well as one of their founding agencies, the now-defunct Forsyth Rescue Squad.
Plus a history of the North Carolina USAR program, and even some information on rescue squads no longer operating in Forsyth County.
Short Version
- 1959 – Forsyth Rescue Squad (FRS) chartered.
- 1962 – FRS incorporated.
- 1969 – FRS adds first technical rescue truck.
- 1989 – National USAR response system created, using city- and county-based teams.
- 1995 – After Oklahoma City bombing, states begin developing USAR teams.
- 1998 – North Carolina Strike Force 1 (NCSF1) created as regional technical response team, as joint venture between FRS and Thomasville Rescue Squad.
- 1999 – North Carolina Canine Emergency Response Team (NCCERT), as a statewide search and rescue resource, and a participating agency in NCSF1 with a home base at FRS.
- 1999 – First deployment of NCSF1.
- 2000c – NCSF1 adds Troutman Fire-Rescue.
- 2000 – NCSF1 incorporated.
- 2000 – NCCERT incorporated.
- 2001 – NCSF1 renamed North Carolina Task Force 1 (NCTF1).
- 2001 – After events of September 11, federal monies made available through NC EM, to develop statewide USAR program.
- 2002 – State implements progressive plan to establish regional USAR teams.
- 2002 – NCTF1 renamed “NCTF1”, abbreviated.
- 2003 – State identifies eleven regional USAR teams.
- 2003 – NCTF1 begins operating as a state team named North Carolina USAR Task Force 4.
- 2003 – FRS disbands. Most of their vehicles and equipment disposed to NCCERT.
- 2004 – NCCERT relocates home base to Apex, NC, and partners with Apex FD.
- 2004 – Task Force 4 adds Apex FD.
- 2006 – Task Force 4 adds Morrisville FD.
- 2013 – State streamlines USAR teams, dissolves four teams.
- 2013 – Task Force 4 dissolved.
Long Version
