HUSAR team with rescue equipment on a mountainside

Canada Task Force 1 (CAN-TF1) Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team (HUSAR)

What you need to know

CAN-TF1 is a nationally deployable heavy urban search and rescue team (HUSAR) based in Vancouver. 

The heavy urban search and rescue team: 

  • Specializes in disaster support and highly technical search and rescue operations in urban environments
  • Offers a range of resources that can be deployed to individual incidents or full-scale disasters
  • Consists of 160 highly trained members, including paramedics (BCEHS), police officers (VPD), firefighters (VF&RS), engineers, specialized City staff, physicians, and validated search canines

CAN-TF1 is an inter-agency team that is managed by Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services with support from the Province of BC. It is part of the National HUSAR program and is one of 6 federally funded task forces in Canada. The other HUSAR teams are in Calgary (CAN-TF2), Toronto (CAN-TF3), Manitoba (CAN-TF4), Halifax (CAN-TF5), and Montreal (CAN-TF6). Learn more about HUSAR in Canada