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Illinois Sends Search and Rescue
Team to Texas
[July 15, 2025]
Springfield—An Urban Search and
Rescue (USAR) team from Illinois is headed to Texas overnight to
assist with operations after deadly flooding this week. This group
of 39 rescuers from fire departments, deployed as part of the Mutual
Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) as USAR Task Force 1, will be on the
ground in Texas for up to 14 days.
IEMA-OHS Acting Director Theodore (Ted) Berger said, “This
nationwide mutual aid agreement allows states to share resources and
personnel during emergencies, and tasks for this operation include
wide-area search and rescue as well as debris pile clearance. Our
hearts go out to everyone affected by this devastating tragedy and
hope we can be of service.”
Illinois is one of close to two dozen states offering assistance to
flood-ravaged Texas. “Just as many towns, cities, and counties in
Illinois have agreements to assist each other in times of disaster,
states have agreements to do the same,” explained Berger. Gov. JB
Pritzker authorized this assistance by directing the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS)
to activate the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).
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The Emergency
Management Assistance Compact is a congressionally ratified
mutual aid agreement among states to provide assistance across
state lines during emergencies and disasters. Since its
inception in 1996, EMAC has facilitated thousands of deployments
in response to hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other
disasters.
Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland
Security (IEMA-OHS):
www.Ready.Illinois.gov
[Text received from IEMA-OHS]
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