Several weeks ago, I spent much of one of my columns discussing homeland
security and the plans to be enacted at the state level. Last week, I was
able to see first-hand some of the highly specialized equipment the state
has purchased and hear from a top state official of the extensive security
network currently being put in place. As a member of an interim Judiciary
subcommittee examining homeland security issues, I toured the state Office
of Emergency Services headquarters, located at the State Capitol.
Emergency Services Program Manager Neal Sharp explained to committee members
how the state is becoming increasingly poised to swiftly act in the event
of a terrorist attack. The office has established a Regional Response Team,
which is intended to help local law enforcement in the “assessment, mitigation
and response” to weapons of mass destruction or any other large-scale catastrophe.
The state has been divided into six regions, with a team assigned to each.
Each team, two of which are currently ready for duty and two of which will
be active next month, will hold elaborate drills four times a year. Already,
the office has staged a mock attack on St. Albans in Kanawha County to test
readiness.
Four of the teams – based in Charleston, Huntington, Wheeling and Morgantown
– are to have mobile hospitals that can be used as triage centers, each complete
with supplies to treat as many as 5,000 people, decontamination equipment,
inflatable shelters, defibrillators and electric generators. The goal is
to be able to respond within one hour to any point within the state – even
an area as rural as Summers County. Our region, Region 5, includes Summers,
Nicholas, Fayette, Greenbrier, Raleigh, Monroe, Mercer, McDowell and Wyoming
counties.
Mr. Sharp and his staff displayed an impressive array of high-tech machinery,
not the least of which were extensive body armor and chain saws capable of
cutting through concrete. One piece of equipment can detect within seconds
whether a suspicious white substance is anthrax or something harmless such
as baking soda. Another, a decontamination shower, can be set up and operational
in 15 seconds.
Between 1999 and 2002, the state spent a total of $5.4 million acquiring
equipment and providing training. A portion of that money has gone to the
State Police, the Fire Marshal and the Department of Environmental Protection.
In the current budget, an additional $6.3 million has been allocated to training
and equipment, including $2.47 million for detection equipment, special service
vehicles and trailers, and medical support for the Regional Response Teams.
In addition, the state is spending nearly $16.8 million on first responder
preparedness and infrastructure protection.