Press Releases

Following the devastating March 14-15, 2025, storms that hit Missouri, Congressman Mark Alford (MO-04) secured the release of federal funding for Missouri Task Force 1 (MO-TF1). MO-TF1 is managed by the Boone County Fire Protection District and is one of 28 Urban Search and Rescue teams in the United States.

“When disaster strikes, the first responders of Missouri Task Force 1 put themselves on the line to assist in rescue and recovery efforts,” said Congressman Alford. “They play a vital role in disaster response in Missouri and communities across America. After storms devastated Missouri last month and the Task Force was at risk of being unable to assist in future disasters, my team sprang into action. We were proud to ensure this heroic team and the Boone County Fire Protection District got access to the money they were owed by the federal government. These efforts, combined with our formal support for Governor Kehoe’s request for a major disaster declaration, show we will always go the extra mile to ensure the Show Me State has the resources it needs for disaster recovery.”

After the March storms hit Missouri, causing significant loss of life and property damage, Congressman Alford took action, using his new role on the House Appropriations Committee to secure the release of up to $1.57 million in FEMA funding for the Boone County Fire Protection District, the sponsoring agency of MO-TF1, which was owed to it for previous Task Force deployments and preparedness cooperative agreement expenses.

Read Congressman Alford’s letter to FEMA here.

“Missouri Task Force 1 had its busiest year in 2024, and while we had received some federal reimbursements, we were still owed over $1.5 million for both disaster response costs and ongoing task force maintenance costs,” said Boone County Fire Protection District Fire Chief and MO-TF1 Sponsoring Agency Scott Olsen. “Not receiving full financial reimbursements from prior deployments and not being able to access monthly funding from our federal cooperative agreement was taking a financial toll on the Fire District. We were at the point that I didn’t think our Board of Directors would authorize another federal disaster deployment unless we got some financial relief and with the severe weather that was forecasted for central and southeast United States, I knew a deployment was likely soon. One phone call to Congressman Alford and 12 hours later the funding log jam was broken apart and we began to receive reimbursements shortly thereafter. Missouri Task Force 1 is forever grateful for the quick, decisive actions that Congressman Alford took to restore access to our funding.”

Congressman Alford also joined Missouri’s federal delegation in a letter—led by Rep. Jason Smith (MO-08)—respectfully requesting President Donald J. Trump grant Governor Mike Kehoe’s request to immediately authorize a federal disaster declaration in 28 Missouri counties impacted by those storms and make available federal assistance to support Missouri’s recovery efforts.

Background:

Missouri Task Force 1 is a part of the FEMA National Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Response System which is made up of 28 task forces across 19 states nationwide. Each task force is managed by a Sponsoring Agency. The Boone County Fire Protection District is the Sponsoring Agency for Missouri Task Force 1.

Missouri Task Force 1 is proud to represent Missouri as one of the nation’s premier FEMA Type 1 US&R Task Forces, comprised of members from all over the State of Missouri. For 30 years, Missouri Task Force 1 has deployed to tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, terrorist incidents, wildfires and building collapses. When a disaster overwhelms local emergency response capabilities, US&R task forces, like MO-TF1, are designed to supplement and enhance local rescue efforts.

Missouri Task Force 1 has played a critical role in the most devastating disasters in our nation’s history, including the 9/11 World Trade Center Attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the Joplin EF5 Tornado and recent disasters like Hurricane Helene, and this year the Kentucky floods and Missouri’s severe weather and flooding event.

###