The Squad 2 Mass Casualty Response Unit (MCRU) and Team program was born in 1993 during the design of the new Rescue 2 vehicle. Squad 2 had been involved in a number of mass casualty events, including bus accidents, commercial building fires, train accidents, hostage situations and even small aircraft disasters. Although the squad kept disaster supplies in trunks at the station, the loading and deployment of this equipment on rapid notice at scenes was difficult at best.

With the knowledge of a fast-growing community and that the closest available MCI unit was from University EMS in Newark, the officers and rescue team decided to design the new rescue unit to house special equipment to conduct mass victim and rehabilitation operations. The design was not for a full-blown MCI truck to handle hundreds of patients, but a self-contained unit capable of treating up to 50 patients with rapid deployment, portability, adaptability, and independance. Thus was born Rescue-MCRU 2.

During construction and initial use of the new vehicle, Squad members engaged in extensive training on Incident Command System procedures, triage tactics, and mass casualty event planning and procedures. A new disaster plan (later renamed "Mass Casualty Event Plan") was developed and submitted to local and county Emergency Management Agencies. Public demonstrations and lectures about the new team were setup, and the unit was placed into service.

The unit first saw duty at a drill in Woodbridge Twp. during the simulated evacuation of patients from a long-term care center. The first "combat" use of the unit was a true "baptism by fire" during the Durham Woods Pipeline Disaster in 1994. Here MCRU 2 was deployed southeast of the incident at the Edison Municipal Garage to establish "Treatment Area Bravo" as a primary receiving site for injured victims and refugees. The unit setup a triage station, 'mini-hospital' with beds, medical supplies, oxygen and lighting, and a staging area for 12+ BLS transport ambulances. Although only one injured person was treated at the site, more than 30 displaced residents were logged, examined and relocated to shelters established by the Red Cross.

Since that time, Rescue-MCRU 2 has participated in a number of drills, including being primary medical unit for the 1998 Edison Meadow Rd. HazMat drill, at hazmat sites for rehab in Edison and South Plainfield, at bus and multi-vehicle accidents, and during extensive structure fires. The unit is on the primary Structural Collapse Task Force and Mass Casualty Response List for Middlesex Co., NJ, and is part of the oxygen strike team with No. Bunswick EMS Rescue 4. The team continually trains and holds seminars to detail the operations of the unit, and is available for service in the Middlesex, Somerset, Union, and Monmouth county areas by request as incident support to Mass Casualty Event operations.

The MCRT has recently been added as an asset to the New Jersey EMS Task Force and team members support EMSTF Mass Care, Staging and Communications functional groups.  The team has also purchased a 1985 Chevy Step Van which is currently being converted into a dedicated Emergency Services Unit (ESU-2) to carry an increased supply of mass care, rehab and HazMat support equipment.