USA-2 Team With 4 Canines To Assist Initial Medical Stabilization

The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s international search and rescue team, USA-2 (Urban Search and Rescue) was slated to depart for Jamaica on October 30, 2025, on a charter flight with 34 team members, 4 canine assistants, and 42,000 lbs of support equipment.

There, they will assist with search, rescue, and recovery as well as initial medical care and stabilization for people who they locate trapped under rubble or collapsed structures.

The USA-2 team will be joined by the USA-1 team out of the Fairfax County, Virginia, Fire Department, which has also been activated. The LA team anticipated being onsite in Jamaica for about two weeks.

LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said, "This highly skilled international search and rescue team includes firefighters, paramedics, canine search teams, a physician and structural engineers. We will be joining our counterparts USA-1 out of Fairfax. Virginia to provide search rescue and recovery assistance."

The teams undergo rigorous training for the skills to rapidly mobilize and provide assistance. They are also equipped with specialized tools and advanced communications gear to locate and extricate victims trapped and to provide medical care when necessary. The teams are self-sufficient with food, water, tents, medical supplies, and everything else they need to live and work in a disaster environment.

Nancy Ward, Director of Cal Office of Emergency Services said, “California has built one of the world’s most advanced urban search and rescue programs in the world. We are proud to stand with our neighbors as so many states and international partners have aided California in our times of need.”

FMI:  www.gov.ca.gov/