TESTIMONY BEFORE THE
MILITARY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY
ON
FEDERAL RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC TERRORISM
INVOLVING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
MARCH 21, 1998
BY
CHIEF LARRY CURL
WAYNE TOWNSHIP (IN) FIRE DEPARTMENT
ON BEHALF OF
THE NATIONAL VOLUNTEER FIRE COUNCIL
AND
THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS-
VOLUNTEER CHIEF OFFICERS SECTION
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, Good Afternoon. It is an honor for me to
have the opportunity to testify before this subcommittee on the Federal response to
domestic terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.
My name is Larry Curl, and I am the Fire Chief for the Wayne Township Volunteer Fire
Department which is located on the West side of Indianapolis, in Marion County, Indiana.
My department is a volunteer department of substantial size and activity, having nearly
500 members and an emergency response record of greater than 8500 emergency alarms for the
year of 1997.
Our emergency service includes that of fire suppression, emergency medical treatment and
transport, hazardous materials mitigation, as well as many non-emergency functions such as
public education, public relations, and fire prevention. We have the distinct honor of
having been the first in our State to initiate the juvenile fire setter program which
provides anti-arson education to juveniles who have been involved in the setting of fires.
My testimony before the Subcommittee today is on behalf of the International Association
of Fire Chiefs, Volunteer Chief Officers Section (VCOS), and the National Volunteer Fire
Council (NVFC). These organizations represent America's more than 850,000 volunteer fire
and rescue personnel who perform duties as the first responders to all types of
emergencies. From the removal of the cat in the tree, the pumping of a flooded basement,
to being the first on the scene of a terrorist incident involving a weapon of mass
destruction such as lethal gas or a fertilizer bomb, the professional volunteer men and
women of this nation stand ready to serve.
The implementation of the Domestic Preparedness (DP) program through the Chemical and
Biological Defense Command (CBDCOM) illustrates that the Federal Government understands
the importance of preparing the fire service to respond to terrorist incidents involving
weapons of mass destruction. Over the past two years, millions of dollars have been spent
to train and equip the fire and emergency service providers of the United States. Of note
are the two separate training initiatives set forth by the Federal Government to help
local responders: The Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 and the
Department of Defense (DoD) appropriation, also known as the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Act.
While both of these initiatives provided for the training of fire and emergency service
personnel, the initiatives have been focused at the top 120 metropolitan jurisdictions.
The nation's volunteer domestic defenders understand that there must be a starting point
for this training, but urge that this training must continue to be funded and expanded
until all firefighters and rescue personnel are properly trained and equipped. This must
include suburban and rural first responders as well as their urban counterparts.
We recognize the role of military agencies in controlling an area that has been affected
by a terrorist incident, but question the effectiveness of having them train the fire and
emergency services. This training must be provided from the fields of emergency management
and hazardous materials management rather than from the military and its consultants. The
military is an important player in the field of technical expertise with weapons of mass
destruction, but managing the consequences of the use of such weapons in civilian settings
requires a civilian approach.
The NVFC and the VCOS recommend that Congress support training of first responders on
domestic response to terrorist incidents through the National Fire Academy under the
United States Fire Administration and FEMA. The National Fire Academy is prepared to
provide this type of training to first responder contingent on proper support through the
appropriations process.
The concept of using the National Guard as a supplemental responder to these events is a
valid one. However, the National Guard can not substitute for the local fire and rescue
services that will respond in the first minutes of a terrorist incident. The Federal
Government must support local emergency response agencies in every community, both urban
and rural. Every firefighter and emergency responder in America needs to be properly
trained to respond to terrorist incidents involving weapons of mass destruction.
The bomb that was detonated in Oklahoma City was believed to have been constructed and
transported through rural America. Many of the fundamentalist and extremist factions
within our borders operate in rural and suburban settings. These areas are protected
primarily by professional volunteers. The Federal training initiatives that have been
conducted have focused only on major metropolitan areas. This training must be expanded to
reach America's volunteer fire and emergency service that protects rural and suburban
populations.
Furthermore, we stress that State and local emergency responders are in need of additional
Federal financial assistance to;
- continue training of first responders to the basic awareness level as well as the incident command level;
- acquire the necessary personal protective equipment;
- obtain hazardous material detection equipment and training; and
- purchase large scale decontamination equipment and training.
Federal resources need to be among the several tools available to local emergency
managers to resolve terrorist incidents.
Thank you for your time and consideration. The NVFC and the IAFC-VCOS stand ready to
support any and all efforts to ensure that America's first responders are prepared to
respond to any terrorist incident. Members of both of our Boards of Directors are
available at any time to meet with representatives of relevant Federal Agencies to discuss
implementation of terrorism response training. If you have any questions please feel free
to contact me, or NVFC First Vice-Chairman Steve Ennis in the NVFC National Office at
202/887-5700, or IAFC-VCOS Chairman Fred Windish at the IAFC Headquarters at 703/273-0911.
