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A large X in four quadrants.
Also known as: X marking search, FEMA X code, US search marking
The United States urban search and rescue marking, drawn as a large X whose quadrants carry the search record.
Records the search status of a structure in the United States national system.
Contexts: Public information
The first stroke is made on entering and the second on leaving, so an incomplete X means a team went in and has not come out — a state that is legible from across the street.
Contexts: Public information
Differs from the international square marking, and confusing the two on a joint deployment would misreport whether anyone remains inside.
The US and international systems are different notations for the same information.
Contexts: Public information
A large diagonal cross painted beside the entry point, the four quadrants carrying the team, the time, the hazards and the casualty count, with a single stroke made on entry and completed on exit.
The US system uses a cross and the international system a square, for the same information.