Within the UK, urban search and rescue capability is concentrated within the Fire & Rescue Service and, to a limited extent, some non-government organisations (NGOs). There are 45 Fire & Rescue Services (FRS) within England, 3 in Wales, 8 in Scotland and 1 in Northern Ireland - a total of 57 across the UK.

Legal Basis for Urban Search & Rescue

Each FRS in England and Wales operates under the provisions contained within the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. Some provisions also apply in Scotland. The Act allows the Secretary of State to direct all FRS to respond to a range of emergencies by means of regulations. The current regulation is The Fire and Rescue Services (Emergencies) (England) Order 2007, commonly known as the 'Emergencies Order'.

Article 3 of the Emergencies Order is entitled ‘Rescue and Protection in case of Certain Emergencies’. It requires each Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA) to make provision for rescuing people in the event of:

a) An emergency involving the collapse of a building or other structure.

b) An emergency involving a train, tram or aircraft which is likely to require an FRA to use its resources beyond the scope of its day to day operations (i.e. a serious transport incident).

Article 3 qualifies the definition of a structure and means that FRAs are not required to duplicate provision made for quarries, mines, tunnels, caves and pot-holes. This is already being met by organisations such as quarrying companies, mining companies, cave rescue associations and pot-hole rescue teams. It also requires an FRA to make provision to protect people, following rescue, to the extent that it considers reasonable to do so.

• Level 1 - The incident is dealt with by resources deployed on the initial predetermined attendance.
• Level 2 - The incident is dealt with by resources deployed solely by the affected FRS.
• Level 3 - The incident is dealt with by resources deployed by the affected FRS, supported by mutual aid assistance from neighbouring FRSs under normal arrangements.
• Level 4 - The incident is dealt with by resources deployed by the affected FRS, supported by mutual assistance from FRSs anywhere in the UK. This assistance is obtained through the use of the national co-ordination centre.
• Level 5 - This response level covers the management of any incoming aid to help the FRS respond to an emergency and will be facilitated by UK Government using the existing protocols used by the United Nations, the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
  

Urban search and rescue resources (vehicles, equipment and personnel) required to respond to day-to-day incidents at Levels 1 to 3 are developed by each FRA based upon local operational assumptions and requirements based upon their Integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMPs).

An example of local resources able to be deployed to structural collapse incidents would be specialist 'Fire Rescue Units', 'Heavy Rescue Tenders' or 'Technical Rescue Units'. These vehicles, equipment and trained personnel would be effective in the initial stages of a major collapse and, in the case of a minor incident, would probably need no further support. Most FRS in the UK operate at least one of these specialist units and some larger authorities have many different teams, specialising in heavy rescue, rope rescue, water rescue or technical rescue.  

To deal effectively with large-scale Level 4 incidents, the UK Government are in the process of developing a new resource, termed the 'New Dimension' USAR capability. Part of a £200m development programme, the USAR Project is delivering an advanced search and heavy rescue capability to the fire and rescue service.

It is likely that any FRS response to any "Article 3" incident may use any combination and proportion of both conventional and New Dimension USAR resources.

Twenty strategically located USAR Units across England & Wales provide the main mechanism of the USAR operational capability.

In addition, a strategic reserve unit, sited in Southern England can be deployed within Europe or globally as part of the UK support for INSARAG and the United Nations. Each USAR Unit comprises:

• 3/4 Prime Mover vehicles
• 5 USAR modules
• 1 Multi-Purpose vehicle
• 30 USAR technicians

The USAR Project has also established a network of 20 canine search teams across the UK. Trained in structure collapse search and co-located with the USAR Units, the canine teams provide a rapid response to incidents involving persons trapped or missing.