September 11, 2001. I remember everything about that day. I wasn’t a firefighter at the time, but I remember watching the coverage from my high school, and seeing fire company after fire company entering the World Trade Center, walking across the debris after the towers fell and raising the flag over the rubble.
Over the past 25 years, we’ve faced other historic incidents, although none on par with 9/11 — and the threat remains present.
It is vital that the new firefighters joining our ranks today, many of whom weren’t even born when the September 11 attacks occurred, know what those attacks did for public safety, the American fire service and FEMA’s National Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) Response System.
I had the opportunity to interview two responders to the World Trade Center attacks, both of whom served on Ohio Task Force 1. Assistant Chief David Pickering of the West Chester Fire Department deployed as a rescue specialist to the World Trade Center and spent two weeks working on the pile with other specialized responders. Alongside him was Jack Reall, a retired deputy chief with the Columbus Division of Fire and current task force leader with Ohio Task Force 1. The two reflected on 9/11 and how that incident reshaped the technical rescue landscape.
Early USAR system activations
Prior to September 11, the National USAR Response System existed, but it was not as standardized or coordinated as it is today. Reall recounted that the USAR system and technical rescue really began to take shape after the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. Several years later, in 1989, the San Francisco Bay Area experienced the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake. The destruction reinforced the need for technical rescue teams specializing in building collapse. Led in part by California agencies, other teams began forming, but national coordination and federal support were still evolving.
It wouldn’t take long before the USAR system was put into action. The World Trade Center was bombed in 1993 in a terrorist attack, resulting in comparatively limited structural damage and perhaps giving a false sense of security about the building. In 1995, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed, resulting in catastrophic damage and hundreds of casualties. According to Pickering, this was the first full mobilization of the USAR system.
The numerous teams worked alongside federal partners and learned valuable lessons about structural collapse and technical rescue. These incidents led many within the USAR system to feel prepared for similar events. However, as Reall explained, there was still a lack of awareness about the capabilities of USAR teams as a whole. Some organizations viewed the task forces as a niche group of structural collapse specialists, while others simply didn’t know the system existed as a federal response resource. September 11 changed all of that.
9/11 changes the mission
Ohio Task Force 1 members worked at Ground Zero with other local, state, regional and federal partners. Pickering recalled that they were activated when the second tower fell, traveled to New York City and began operations within 12 hours of the attack. Unlike today, members didn’t have access to the internet, social media or the same flow of real-time information. They were unaware of the full scope and magnitude of the attack. Their initial reports indicated that as many as 6,000 people could be trapped or entombed — a mission the USAR system was designed for and that few other resources could tackle at that scale.
Unfortunately, following the collapse of the twin towers, the mission became primarily a recovery operation. Nonetheless, members of Ohio Task Force 1 and other FEMA USAR teams worked diligently and professionally with FDNY, NYPD and others to recover victims’ remains and sift through debris.
After the mission, Reall said the task force was brought together and told it was their job to educate people about the work that had been done for as long as they could — in essence, to never forget.
In the years following 9/11, the federal government further standardized USAR response through FEMA, implemented the National Incident Management System and increased support for the teams. The system today includes 28 federal task forces located across the continental United States. Team capabilities have also expanded far beyond structural collapse to include hazmat, medical, multi-discipline rescue, technical search, canines, logistics, planning and command-and-control functions.
Locally, departments also recognized the need for technical rescue resources. Across the country, local and regional teams began to emerge, providing communities with capabilities for incidents such as high-angle rope rescue, swiftwater response, trench collapse and confined-space rescue.
Beyond structural collapse
Today, the federal USAR system remains ready to respond to the next threat. As Reall pointed out, the role of USAR continues to expand. From its early roots in structural collapse response, USAR task forces now respond to major natural disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes. Teams have operated at the Surfside condominium collapse in Florida, hurricanes Helene and Milton and countless other incidents across the country.
As the missions and scope of the service have changed, USAR teams have met each challenge with the professionalism and dedication that have always defined the system. Whether restoring critical lifelines and infrastructure to devastated communities or pulling victims from rubble, as teams did following the 2026 earthquakes in Venezuela, the USAR system stands ready to deploy at a moment’s notice.
Readiness still matters
It is important that politicians, local officials and fire service leaders understand the capabilities and resources around them. Until recently, federal funding for the task forces had remained relatively flat for years — a problem compounded in part by the same lack of awareness that existed before 9/11.
Because we haven’t experienced another attack on the scale of September 11, it can be easy to forget that terrorism still exists. There are still people with the intent to kill Americans and attack the country and its institutions. Reall and Pickering both highlighted concerns about the current political climate, polarization within the United States and geopolitical tensions abroad as reasons responders must remain prepared for another attack. While it may not be on the scale of September 11, the possibility cannot be dismissed.
Until then, we must stay vigilant and not let our guard down — a difficult task as more responders enter the fire service who did not witness the 9/11 attacks or work alongside those who responded. Departments must not dismiss the need for technical rescue and hazmat training, but instead embrace these disciplines and continue to support them. Fire service leaders must know the resources and capabilities of rescue teams at the local, regional, state and federal levels and must work to develop standards that support integration with task force responses.
What used to be viewed as a niche capability focused on structural collapse has become a common feature at major incidents, and technical rescue awareness and operations training are now taught in many fire academies.
Never forget the mission
As was the case on 9/11, the USAR system stands ready to support rescue, recovery and disaster-mitigation missions with steadfast dedication and professionalism. The specialists who make up the task forces are local responders who dedicate their lives to serving others and have proved themselves time and again across the country. With every mission and new challenge, they rise to the occasion and demonstrate why the USAR system must continue to be embraced, taught and supported at all levels.
We must never forget the September 11 attacks or the victims who died. We should also never forget that those who seek to harm the United States remain a threat. Should another major attack occur, USAR responders will once again work together and put their training to the test to save lives.
Stay vigilant, and never forget.
