[1] Prior to its formation, there were several elite units such as the Rescue Squad and MRT Task Force that were established by SCDF's predecessor, Singapore Fire Service (SFS).

Upon the merger of the then-Singapore Civil Defence Force and SFS, DART was established as the new SCDF's elite rescue team.

This seal of approval allows disaster affected countries to regard SCDF's USAR capabilities favourably when prioritising acceptance of international response support.

SCDF maintains a dedicated 79-man standby contingent round-the-clock codenamed Operation Lionheart where its core function is to provide urban search and rescue and/or humanitarian relief assistance to countries afflicted by major disasters.

The contingent primarily comprises rescuers from DART, with other SCDF frontline units providing additional manpower support.

Thereafter, the dogs are required to undergo urban search and rescue training where they will be exposed to various scenarios at the obstacle courses and mazes under different weather conditions and at varying difficulty levels.

With its flexible modular concept of deployment, the DRV can be easily configured to respond to complex missions involving either height, collapsed structure or underwater rescue operations.

One of its unique, purpose-built features is a compartment to enable our elite DART rescuers to gear up and even discuss rescue strategies while on transit to the incident location.

The DART Amphibious Vehicle (DAV) enhances SCDF's response to fire and rescue incidents in Singapore's inland and coastal waters.