Codes and standards published by NFPA are displayed as read-only under license from NFPA solely for use within this system. NFPA material may not be downloaded, printed, reproduced, or transferred.

Use the 2017 edition of NFPA 1670 to enhance the safety of emergency personnel responding to technical search and rescue incidents.

Significantly restructured and updated for the latest edition, NFPA 1670: Standard on Operations and Training for Technical Search and Rescue Incidents is the essential document that identifies and establishes levels of functional capability for conducting operations safely and effectively while minimizing threats to rescuers.

With natural and manmade disasters seemingly on the rise, NFPA 1670 is a must for professionals in organizations providing technical search and rescue at the awareness, operations or technician level. It regulates incidents involving rope rescue, structural collapse, confined space entry, floodwater, urban search and rescue, mines, tunnels, and much more.

The fundamentals of technical rescue covered include:

• Conducting hazard identification and risk assessments
• Planning for incident response (e.g. addressing rescuer safety, operational capability, and equipment and training needs)
• Determining the level of functional capability for a rescue organization that could be involved in a technical search and rescue incident

The 2017 edition of NFPA 1670 is revised to correlate with NFPA 1006: Standard for Technical Rescuer Personnel Professional Qualifications.

• A joint task group worked to correlate the material found in both NFPA 1670 and the 2017 edition of NFPA 1006. Correlation establishes a consensus for Awareness, Operations, and Technician for emergency responder levels between the documents, utilizing the same definitions in NFPA 1670 and NFPA 1006 and aligning chapters where possible.
• Chapters have been created for Floodwater and Watercraft to further reflect various water-type rescue challenges.