The origins of the FEMA Task Forces goes back to the early 1980s when the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and Miami-Dade County Fire Department created search and rescue teams to deal with rescue operations in collapsed buildings.
In the early 1980s, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and Miami-Dade County Fire Department created specialized search and rescue teams to respond to incidents involving collapsed structures. This initiative laid the groundwork for FEMA Task Forces.