SFM Logo

State Fire Marshal

A Division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety
 

State Response Teams

​​​About

We manage the State Emergency Response Teams. Two workers in hazmat suits check each other's gear after leaving a building where a simulated chlorine leak was taking place.These teams support and work with the local incident commanders. ​

The State Emergency Response Teams include: 
  • Bomb squads
  • Hazardous materials response teams
  • Minnesota Air Rescue Team (MART)
  • An urban search and rescue team (Minnesota Task Force 1)​​

Request a team

Contact the Minnesota State Duty Officer at 651-649-5451 or 800-422-0798 to request a team's assistance. 

What is the cost?

There is no charge for the State Hazardous Materials Teams, Bomb Teams, or MART.  MnTF1 and MnTF2 may assess a fee.

More about the teams

Bomb Squads

  • There are four bomb squads across the state. 
  • Bomb squad team members are licensed Minnesota peace officers who are certified hazardous device technicians. 
  • Teams are equipped with hazardous device robots, portable digital X-ray machines, and containment vessels. 

Urban Search and Rescue Teams (Minnesota Task Force 1 and 2) 

  • Urban search and rescue (USAR) teams can​ assist with structural collapse, heavy rescue, wide-area search, trench rescue, confined space rescue, rope rescue and advanced medical care. 
  • MnTF1 includes physicians and medical specialists who can provide medical care and direction in the disaster area. MnTF1 is equipped for 24-hour operations and can work in any disaster area, including those with little or no infrastructure. 
  • MnTF2 has varied capacities. 

Hazardous Materials Response Teams 

  • There are 11 Chemical Assessment Teams (four of which are also Emergency Response Teams} across Minnesota. 
  • The teams can help prevent a hazardous release, mitigate a release, and stabilize an incident. They do not provide firefighting capabilities. 
  • Teams provide local incident commanders with technical support. They deploy with trained responders, specialized equipment and support of other state agencies. 
  • Hazmat Teams​ are not allowed to assume overall command of a local incident; they cannot clean up or transport hazardous materials, mitigate explosive devices or clandestine drug labs, or respond to waste abandonment/abandoned barrel calls.​

The Minnesota Aviation Rescue Team (MART)

  • MART specializes in rescue and extraction of victims from locations that can not be easily reached by ground or water, or pose excessive risk to rescuers. 
  • MART can assist with searches using visual and thermal images from the air. MART helps public safety agencies across the state maximize victims' safety and minimize risk to responders. 
  • ​MART can also be requested through State Patrol Dispatch at 651-582-1500.