IEC and IER

Over the past decades, the frequency and impact of disasters in densely populated urban areas where communities live and work in concrete and reinforced concrete structures have underscored the growing need for advanced Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capabilities.

While the deployment of international USAR teams has provided significant benefits to trapped victims and affected countries, experience has shown that effective integration within a coordinated system is essential to maximize the use of available resources.

To address this need, INSARAG established the External Classification (IEC) system, designed to categorize international USAR teams according to their operational capabilities. This ensures that only qualified and appropriate teams are deployed to emergencies, thereby enhancing the efficiency and professionalism of international disaster response.

The IEC is a voluntary, independent, peer-reviewed process that enables the INSARAG community to deliver rapid, professional USAR support during disasters involving structural collapse. To maintain alignment with INSARAG methodology and ensure teams remain current, the External Reclassification (IER) process was introduced. Together, IEC and IER form the INSARAG Classification System.

Since its establishment in 2005, this system has played a critical role in ensuring assisting countries deploy teams with the required capabilities and that resources are assigned to the most appropriate sites without delay. The classification framework identifies three levels of USAR teams—Light, Medium, and Heavy—with detailed requirements and application procedures outlined in the IEC/IER Guidelines.