Terrorism has changed the face of the world in ways that we cannot even imagine. One area where is has had a dramatic impact, however, is the emergency services. Just how is the fire service in the United States responding to the threat of terrorism, asks Ed Comeau.

"When we respond to calls, there is a new layer of consideration," according to Chief Rebecca Denlinger with the Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services. "We have to weave it [terrorism awareness] into everything that we do - training, responding, budget planning. It has become pervasive throughout the fire service."

Chief Denlinger commands a relatively large department that is comprised of 605 career members with 27 fire stations spread out over 515 km2. How are smaller departments dealing with the terrorism threat?

"It hasn't changed how we operate much," reported Chief Bruce Varner from the Carrollton Fire Department in Texas. Carrollton has 120 firefighters with 34 on duty each day providing protection to some 60 km2. "At our organisational level there is no federal money. We have tried to improve awareness levels. For example, we are going to respond to explosions more cautiously."

Varner explained: "If an event strikes, most of the small departments are tremendously unprepared. No equipment, and we don't have the necessary information and training. There is training out there, but you have to pay transportation costs, lodging, etc." To a small department, this can be a significant expense.

Funding is a major hurdle to many of the fire departments in preparing for terrorism response. At a time when the national and federal budgets are being stretched because of the poor economy, every dollar becomes critical to the operation of a department. Additional expenses for terrorism response training and equipment become difficult to fund.

While there is federal funding being dispersed to the fire departments to assist in their general operations, which can include terrorism response preparation, how effectively this money can be used to prepare for a major incident is still to be determined.

"What is hurting us is that the fire service recognises, and to some degree the politicians realise, that funding continues to be a challenge," states Seattle Fire Chief Gary Morris.  "The local governments are looking at the federal government and saying you need to provide the funding and so far the feds have been unable to do that at a legitimate pace."

A series of Fire Grants are currently  being distributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  However, there is a concern with how the distribution reaches the fire departments and the total impact that this funding can have.  "The financial piece is still the big thing," reports Don Bliss, the state fire marshal and director of fire safety and emergency management.  "It all started gung-ho a year ago, but that (the money) hasn't transpired.  There are some supplemental funds for planning, training and equipment but the big amounts of money are still tied up in Congress."

"As it currently stands," reported Morris, "25 per cent of the funds can go to the state government with a maximum of 3 per cent for overheads with the remaining 75 per cent going to the local level."  However, he continues: "In Washington State there are four or five major metropolitan areas that are potential targets.  Assume that there are 400 other fire departments in the state...a little bit here, a little bit there, and the impact of the money is diluted.  The metro chiefs are lobbying that there should be direct grant funding to major metropolitan areas where the major targets are.  Better to focus on building a quality team rather than dilute it."

Pulling together the different organisations and agencies to work on developing plans and responding to incidents can be a challenge.  Denlinger sits on the Georgia Homeland Security Task Force.  "It is an enormous undertaking in this state and most states.  It is very apparent that the response to terrorism crosses boundaries.  The first problem is who is going to co-ordinate these agencies?"

"Terrorism has raised the awareness on the part of law enforcement that they have to share more information and intelligence with the fire service if there is some hard intelligence," said Bliss

Another aspect is making sure that the limited resources available are being used effectively.  While the flow of federal money hasn't been what a lot of agencies are hoping for, there is a side benefit to this.  "On the one hand we're disappointed (about the lack of federal funds), but on the other hand it is giving us a chance to...plan more," reports Bliss.

There are some technical resources that are available, according to Bliss.  "The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is giving guidance on infectious disease.  We are also getting technical assistance from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Disaster Preparedness."  The International Association of Fire Chiefs is also providing some technical assistance reports Denlinger.

One concept that is being proposed is to model the highly successful Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) program.  This would not only provide a cadre of highly trained personnel but could also use the existing funds more effectively, says Morris.

"Take the USAR model.  We need 62 people to respond, and with triple redundancy on the team, that is about 200 people trained for USAR response in a metropolitan area," he explains.  "If I scatter 200 people throughout the state of Washington, it is difficult to get them together to train and respond."

In Georgia, the same concept of USAR is being used to respond to an incident that may involve structural collapse or some other related event.  "The GSAR (Georgia Search and Rescue) team will step into the breach," said Denlinger.  "Our closest federal USAR team is Miami or Memphis, and they have a 12 hour response time if we need USAR resources."

In addition, adds Denlinger, no single fire department in the state is robust enough to support a USAR type of response.  "The five metro fire chiefs in the Atlanta area are trying to get a joint task force to support that initiative.  That by itself is an enormous challenge.  Law enforcement has done a lot of task forces, but other than fire investigations, the fire service really has never done that."

No matter what plan is eventually adopted, terrorism has clearly changed how the fire service conducts business today.  "We have to weave it into everything we do," said Denlinger.  "Training, responding, budget planning.  It has become pervasive throughout the fire service.  We have added 33 per cent in training specific to terrorism," said Denlinger.  "It's a new world with new equipment to buy and train."

The following are resources that are available on the Internet

United States Fire Administration
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/dhtml/fire-service/c-terror.cfm
This page contains resources to prepare First Responders to respond to biological, nuclear, incendiary, chemical, explosive, and other terrorist incidents. Also included is information on protecting critical infrastructures.

U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command's Homeland Defense Business Unit
http://hld.sbccom.army.mil/
The mission of the U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command's (SBCCOM's) Homeland Defense Business Unit is to enhance the response capabilities of military, federal, state and local emergency responders to terrorist incidents involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The Homeland Defense Program integrates the critical elements of WMD Installation Preparedness, Improved Response and Technical Assistance upon the solidly proven foundation of the Domestic Preparedness Program.

National Infrastructure Protection Center
http://www.nipc.gov/
Established in February 1998, the NIPC's mission is to serve as the U.S. government's focal point for threat assessment, warning, investigation, and response for threats or attacks against our critical infrastructures. These infrastructures, which include telecommunications, energy, banking and finance, water systems, government operations, and emergency services, are the foundation upon which our industrialized society is based.

Center for Disease Control Public Health Preparedness and Emergency Response
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/
This site contains a wealth of information relating to infectious diseases such as anthrax, smallpox and others.

US Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.hhs.gov/hottopics/healing/biological.html
This site contains information on anthrax and biological terrorism response and preparedness.

The Department of Homeland Security
http://www.whitehouse.gov/deptofhomeland/
This is the new U.S. federal agency that will combine the functions of 22 different existing agencies within the government to focus on homeland defense.

Federal Emergency Management Agency
http://www.fema.gov/fima/antiterrorism/links.shtm
This page contains an extensive listing of links to resources on the Internet, ranging from architecture and design to training.

Federal Bureau of Investigation
http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/terrorism.htm

Information on the terrorists that are being sought by the FBI, as well as a series of reports that can be downloaded.