Special Guest
Doug Copp
Doug Copp is the Rescue Chief and founder of American Rescue Team International (ARTI) — a private volunteer disaster response organization known for going where others hesitate. With a career spanning over three decades, Copp has entered the aftermath of more than 890 collapsed buildings across six continents, responding to some of the world's most devastating earthquakes, bombings, and catastrophes.
Where others study disasters from a safe distance, Copp has made his life's work crawling inside the chaos.
Copp began his work in disaster rescue in the 1980s and quickly earned a reputation for frontline experience and fearless field tactics. His missions have taken him from collapsed schools in Mexico City to ruined apartment towers in Turkey, from shattered villages in Armenia to the broken infrastructure of post-quake India.
He's operated in over 60 countries, often as one of the first foreign responders on-site, sometimes with nothing more than his camera, gear, and a commitment to find life amid devastation.
Notable Disaster Deployments
- Mexico City Earthquake (1985) – Early experience in large-scale urban collapse
- Peru – Over 40 rescue efforts
- Loma Prieta Earthquake, San Francisco (1989) – Assisted in search under collapsed highways and buildings
- Oklahoma City Bombing (1995) – Among early civilian responders inside the Murrah Federal Building ruins
- Turkey Earthquake (1999) – Conducted live search-and-rescue in dangerous residential zones
- India Earthquake (Gujarat, 2001) – Helped locate survivors in a disaster zone that killed over 20,000
- El Salvador Earthquake (2001) – Led efforts in remote regions with limited infrastructure
- World Trade Center, New York (9/11) – His most dangerous mission yet
9/11 – Into the Depths
On September 11, 2001, as most first responders were confined to the unstable surface of Ground Zero, Doug Copp did the unthinkable. He entered the twisted remains of the World Trade Center and descended into the B1 and B2 sub-basement levels — deeper than any other known civilian.
The Triangle of Life
Copp is also known for promoting the "Triangle of Life" — a controversial earthquake survival method developed from years of observing where victims lived and died inside collapsed buildings. His theory suggests that people are more likely to survive by positioning themselves beside large, sturdy objects — not under them — creating survivable voids when the structure collapses.
While debated by institutions like the American Red Cross, Copp's method is based on firsthand observations from hundreds of actual disasters — not simulations or theory. Whether one agrees or not, there is no denying the real-world experience behind the belief.
Field-Tested Perspective
Doug Copp has written, filmed, lectured, and testified about disaster mitigation and response in many parts of the world. His views and methods have been met with both interest and criticism. What sets him apart is his extensive, firsthand experience in some of the world's most dangerous and unstable environments.
Doug Copp brings an experienced and unapologetically field-based perspective to the conversation around disaster response.
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