ATF Press Release

WASHINGTON – The federal government's Emergency Support Function #13 (ESF #13) was activated to provide federal public safety and security assistance in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. ESF #13 is managed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on behalf of the Department of Justice.

On Oct. 5, ESF #13 was activated to provide force protection for ESF #9 Federal Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) teams and ESF #8 Public Health and Medical Services missions following Hurricane Milton. ESF #13 is also positioned to provide direct federal assistance to Florida if needed. Since arriving in Florida, ESF #13 has:

• Pre-staged 34 Law Enforcement Strike Teams (LEST) comprised of more than 440 federal law enforcement officers (FLEO) from 12 separate federal agencies, including ATF, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Federal Air Marshals (FAMS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). It is anticipated that more FLEOs will be requested to assist with response efforts.
• Staged resources to provide law enforcement and security support for 22 US&R teams and two Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT).

On Sept. 24, ESF #13 was activated for Hurricane Helene to the southeastern part of the United States.

At its peak, ESF #13:

• Deployed more than 30 federal LESTs consisting of 400+ FLEOs from 15 federal law enforcement agencies, included ATF, DEA, FBI, USMS, BOP, CBP, BLM, USFWS, CGIS, Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID), Department of Transportation OIG (DOT-OIG), U.S. Treasury Inspector General (TIGTA), Health and Human Services OIG (HHS-OIG), FAMS, and IRS.
• Deployed to Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina for Helene recovery support.
• Supported approximately 30 federal US&R teams from Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, California, Texas, Indiana, Missouri, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada.
• Deployed more than 40 K-9s to assist in searches.
• Supported four Health and Medical Task Forces (HMTF) and DMATs in the Western North Carolina area.
• Deployed approximately 10 peer support personnel from ATF and USMS.

The federal government’s disaster response includes 15 Emergency Support Functions. ESF #13 coordinates the federal law enforcement response to any disaster requiring the federal whole-of-government response. In Feb. 2006, the Department of Justice was designated the ESF #13 coordinating department. In October 2008, ATF was assigned as the lead coordinating agency for ESF #13 on behalf of DOJ.

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ATF teams up with multiple agencies to stage resources to provide law enforcement
and security support to ESF #9 Federal Urban Search and Rescue teams.

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ESF #13 provides force protection for Federal Urban Search
and Rescue teams following Hurricane Milton.

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ESF #13 provides force protection for aUrban Search and Rescue
team in the southeastern part of the U.S. following Hurricane Helene.

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ESF #13 continues to provide force protection for Urban Search
and Rescue teams as they use drones to look for victims across
the southeastern part of the U.S. following Hurricane Helene.