Virginia Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue Team

05/21/2026

“Public service at its best” is a phrase that perfectly describes Richard Brown. Richard may be the only person in Virginia Beach history to earn two 20-year service awards — one as a firefighter with the Virginia Beach Fire Department and another as Training Coordinator for Virginia Task Force Two USAR (VA-TF2).

Richard began his fire service career as a VBFD volunteer in 1974, was hired full-time in 1980, and retired as a Captain in 2003. Following his retirement, he continued serving the community as a substitute teacher with Virginia Beach City Public Schools before joining VA-TF2 as Training Coordinator in 2006.

In total, Richard has dedicated an incredible 52 years of service to the City of Virginia Beach and the Virginia Beach Fire Department. His commitment, leadership, and dedication to public service have left a lasting impact on countless lives and generations of responders.
Virginia Beach Fire Department VBSchools FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency Virginia Beach City Government

04/16/2026

Virginia Task Force 2 (VA-TF2) member Trinity Maurer and her canine partner, Goldie, were requested by the Newport News Fire Department to search a collapsed, abandoned structure near Export Circle in the Warwick section of the city. The search was completed in just a few minutes, and no live persons were detected.

Canine teams are frequently deployed in these types of incidents because of their speed and efficiency. A trained search dog is an invaluable asset and can thoroughly cover an area in minutes—work that might take human crews hours or even days to complete.
FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency
Newport News Fire Department

04/05/2026

Only 14 spaces are available for the Fall SCS Class slated for Oct. 23 – 26. To register: http://www.vatf2.com/trainings/scs-school/

Virginia Beach Fire Department (VBFD) and Virginia Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue hosted their bi-annual Structural Collapse School last week at the Harry E. Diezel Fire Training Center. More than 138 first responders and instructors from across the country—including students from Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, and Texas—have gathered to sharpen their skills and learn advanced techniques in structural collapse operations. Training topics included heavy lifting and moving, airbag operations, internal and external shoring, cutting and burning, concrete breaching and breaking, and practical crane operations.

03/26/2026

03/17/2026

Heads-Up!

02/25/2026

Congratulations James! Thank you for your dedication, public service, and community support.

Congratulations James on receiving the 2025 Excellence in Career Fire Service award at the 2025 Governor’s Fire Service Awards during a ceremony held in conjunction with the annual Virginia Fire and Rescue Conference held last week in Virginia Beach. Templeton serves as a Heavy Equipment and Rigging Specialist (HERS) with Virginia Task Force 2 (VA-TF2), a role he has held since joining the team in 2002. During this time, he has demonstrated exceptional technical expertise in high-stakes environments, including operating heavy excavators to assist with searches of damaged structures and performing critical rigging on compromised buildings to facilitate victim rescues in major national disasters such as the Champlain Towers collapse in Miami, FL.

From 2002 to 2015, he also volunteered as a firefighter with the City of Virginia Beach Fire Department, contributing thousands of hours of dedicated service over more than two decades.

Through his company, Allfirst LLC, James has generously supported local fire departments across South Hampton Roads by supplying essential goods and services. This includes designing and constructing training props, collapse simulators, support structures, and providing smokers for every fire station in the region—efforts that have significantly enhanced firefighter training and daily operations.

The profound impact of James’ contributions to the safety, preparedness, and well-being of Virginia’s first responders and citizens is truly invaluable and cannot be fully quantified.

02/02/2026

❗️Today is the day. No more, "I'll do it tomorrow". If you've been thinking about the conference, imagining yourself training with the best, getting all your CEU's done, and meeting really cool people, it's time for you to step into that reality.

➡️ Register today to get our best rate before prices go up on Monday 2/2. We offer full conference passes, 5 day weekday passes and a 3 day weekend pass. Secure your spot and come see why we are Virginia's premiere Fire and Rescue Conference.

🌊 Beach week begins February 16-21 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

🔗 More information and registration link in comments below 👇

01/19/2026

We were happy to present to members of our community and educate them on FEMA VA-TF2 and how we respond during disasters.

Attending:
Norfolk Fire Rescue
Lt Trevor Blank & L9 Jones
Battalion Chief Dave Mangus
Assistant Chief Ronnie Mann

Virginia Beach Fire
Assistant Chief Michael Carter
Battalion Chief Mike Hopkins

11/30/2025

Congratulations Scott! Thank you for your many years of unwavering service, hard work, and dedication to Virginia Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue Team, VBFD and the Virginia Beach City Government community.

The Virginia Beach Fire Department proudly congratulates Captain H. Scott Prentice on his retirement after more than 40 years of dedicated public service.

Captain Prentice began his journey with VBFD as a volunteer before officially joining the department in 1985. Throughout his career, he served at several stations, but his legacy is most strongly tied to his outstanding work with the department’s esteemed Technical Rescue Program, which played a vital role in the development of the FEMA Virginia Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue Team.

His commitment to excellence has been recognized time and time again. Captain Prentice was honored as Firefighter of the Year in 2011 and served on the Honor Guard from the very beginning of his career, exemplifying professionalism, integrity, and service.

Thank you, Scott, for your unwavering dedication to the department and to the citizens of Virginia Beach.

The VBFD wishes you a happy, healthy, and well-deserved retirement!

Virginia Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue Team