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Submitted to:

SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, VETERANS AFFAIRS,

AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

March 27, 2000

I am excited and pleased to have the opportunity to give testimony before the Subcommittee on National Security, Veteran Affairs and International Relations. My name is Scott T. Appleby, and I am the Director of the City of Bridgeport's Office of Emergency Management and the Chairman of the Local Emergency Planning Committee. Again, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss with you my personal thoughts on the capability of our municipality and other municipalities in responding and recovering effectively from a terrorist attack.

As we are aware of, if we were to experience an attack in our municipality or community, particularly one involving chemical, biological, explosive or incendiary weapons it is Us the First Responders that will have to deal with the most critical and extremely dangerous hours of the incident. This is a profound challenge for our emergency response personnel to the degree that they one, must treat the incident as either a hazardous materials or mass casualty incident immediately. But also take into account complicated factors which, come into play such as the targeting of responders by these cowardly individuals and crime scene considerations. Making this type of response and incident very complex, especially for individuals that may not have all the necessary equipment or the training at their disposal. These first responders, and I should not leave out the local governments, will be the individuals making decisions that in fact will immediately save lives, minimize any contamination and hopefully protect others from harm. But how would you expect them to do this with limited resources, training, and equipment not readily available to them.

As the Emergency Management director, I am a firm believer in these following key issues. I believe in solid and consistent planning, proper coordination of all emergency service personnel and community on all levels. I believe in overall preparation in helping to minimize threats, up-to-date communications, equipment and training, and the availability of State and Federal funding to assist localities before an incident are the key in crisis and consequence management. For any municipality to defend itself against any emergency especially one of this magnitude these issues need to be in place immediately not after or during an incident. Our municipality's approach is one of pro-activity towards public safety and we are trying to eliminate if we can any reactive psychology. But it seems that we are limited in funding, training, equipment, and resources from the federal government at a local level and hope this will be addressed before its too late.

OVERALL ASSESSMENTS (prior to 3/24 exercise)

My overall assessment on federal programs, agency roles, and proposals for improvements are as follow. To begin, my overall assessment of federal training programs are twofold. One, where we are now with training and awareness compared to years ago is amazing in itself. I feel FEMA is doing a fantastic job working with other agencies is getting the word out on mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery to all hazards. FEMA's two courses Emergency Response to Terrorism: Self Study and Emergency Response to Terrorism: Basic Concepts are very beneficial to all first responders. However, the problem is although they may have received adequate training or awareness from these courses, if the first responder is not properly equipped or fully prepared they themselves become victims in the process. And second if they still do not know where there authority begins or ends this to puts a problem within a problem. Training programs need to be mandatory and consist of an inter-agency and all levels of response concept all in one class. By doing this you allow local, state and federal agencies and officials to get familiarized with each other, while understanding each others strengths and weaknesses of the emergency structure. This process almost immediately strides to help incorporate teamwork.

When discussing about equipment needs, I mean making sure each first responder is fully equipped when responding to an incident. So often we have learned lessons far too late that if providing certain equipment may have in fact saved a first responders life or have put him in a position to possibly minimize the loss of a citizens life. When a police officer, firefighter, or medical technician responds to a scene of an incident with limited or no resources, you have now put them in a position to possibly fail in providing safety. It is fantastic to hear that the military and federal agencies have the availability of equipment. But, when it takes hours to receive that equipment or resources at a local level, the need for that equipment is a mood point because you may now be faced with nothing more than a mass casualty incident. I feel every State should have regional teams that consist of both federal, state and local officials and all should be fully equipped to respond. Detection devices and personal equipment is a must for local responders. We as a nation can not fail to provide this to them.

Planning seems to be the biggest obstacle and the biggest concern. Who is in charge? This is what you hear throughout everyday operations. A plan must be implemented with the coordination of federal, state and local officials working together in understanding "who is in charge" during the incident or within the process. This clarification will now help establish missions for those involved in the process and help create a unified plan that all are familiar with and can understand. Many federal agencies have established and outstanding plans, but there is limited incorporation in the plans of the local first responder and his requirements. There have not been from what I know or have heard of any inter-agency or multi agency planning or communication. Why not have unified plans that in fact all agencies at all level of government can be a part of and share their input? Remember, the complexity and different make-ups or missions that contribute on a local, state and federal level create a problem in itself and make it very difficult to plan properly. I think there is a solution to this if we can only find a way to break down the walls and bridge our agencies together may actually strengthen us as a nation. We must not forget if one agency is effected in the process, we all are effected together.

With regards to national security issues, I think what is essential in allowing proper response and recovery is the coordination of information. It is imperative that local first responders, state and federal agencies work together and share known information or information that may in fact save lives. Obviously, there is some information that cannot be disseminated, however as emergency service responders we all have taken an oath to save lives and property. If there is vital information that can in fact help accomplish this, then it should in fact be shared by all. If you look at times when information is shared or disseminated properly 9 out of 10 times missions are met. Our current system of a withholding of information is inadequate and by establishing a unified process this may in fact help minimize or possibly eliminate loopholes in the system that criminals or terrorists so often exploit.

How important are the communications centers and the EOC. The responsibility of these agencies are vital in not only directing and coordinating local government response but for establishing and maintaining a direct line of communications with all other levels of government, private sector, and with the public. The problems I see accompanying communications centers and EOC's is the lack of federal funding for shared frequencies during disasters, backup telecommunications, and secured up-to-date facilities. There are numerous agencies right now with different frequencies and limited capabilities of all to communicate with each other at an incident. We need FCC to establish a designated frequency that all can communicate on during incidents of this magnitude. When information is not shared or communicated properly, it creates major confusion and provides a gap between key agencies and key decisions. Making this very dangerous especially due to the magnitude and complexity of this incident. Another issue is the lack of funding that use to exist for communication centers and EOC's.

If, telecommunications or communications by itself are loss, even jeopardized, it is with certainty that lives and property may be loss. A communication center and EOC needs to be at a high level of readiness at all times. It must be structured with equipment that is updated, and able to be mobilized in case of evacuation. But to deter against these agencies having to evacuate, every effort should be made to position these agencies together and in a low risk, low vulnerability area, a location far away from hazards that may disrupt operations. I can not emphasize enough the importance of communications. We have heard and possibly witnessed on occasions the loss of communications or agencies not being able to communicate due to different frequencies. I think it is imperative that a system be developed so that all agencies are on the same frequency or system and communication centers and EOC's are relocated to safe zones with the help of federal funding. We as a nation, can not err on the side of public safety when it comes to establishing scene communication for our emergency personnel or disseminating warnings and alerts to the public.

The issues concerning health and medical in regards to terrorism are as follow. Every hospital and every emergency medical responder should be trained and equipped to handle any health issue. As we see or hear about in the media is the lack of supplies with not only common illnesses but also for the release of chemical, biological and radiological agents. The needs of the health community seem to be supplies of drugs, antidotes, decontamination facilities and pre-plans. The spectrum of health concerns does not seem to vary from state to state rather mirror each other. As first responders involved in these horrific incidents will address, is it is very difficult to help individuals if they themselves are not properly equipped or have had the proper training in the detection of agents. An improvement may be that according to the population antidotes, supplies, training and resources be made available to help assist health agencies and the community in the unlikely event of a terrorist incident. Also training with the local, state, federal and health agencies must take place to ensure that resources, detection and communication of hazards are detected early enough to help reduce the loss of lives.

My final assessment has to do with exercises. I applaud the Committee, the State of CT, the National Guard, and the City of Bridgeport local and regional responders and officials for coordinating, participating, and coming together to address issues of concerns that may in fact save lives if an event of this magnitude were to take place. Exercise programs should always include various departments, agencies and governments of all levels participating, interacting or even just discussing with each other ways to help possibly eliminate this issue or other issues. This type of joint interaction allows agencies to figure out jointly what response should occur and sets up command interaction. It also gives an opportunity to learn how to communicate, coordinate, and most of all how to work together. Exercises conducted jointly also bring into light deficiencies and conflicts that require immediate attention before an actual incident takes place. This upcoming exercise in fact helps achieve this goal. We must not lose sight that we are all in this together.

My views prior to the exercise were to the extent still valid. I still feel that there is still a lack of communication with all agencies and government in regards to information, needs, and who is in charge. I think this could be solidified with inter-agency interaction, training, and the clarifying of roles and responsibilities prior to any incident involving all levels of the process. This process should be mandatory. To many first responders as well as state and federal agencies did not follow proper procedures in regards to command structure. Crisis and consequence management was being processed at the scene while the local and State EOC rarely had an idea of what was being requested, this duplicated efforts. Another aspect of communications is non-shared frequencies. I still feel a group of designated frequencies or telecommunications equipment will be beneficial to all. We did find out that there is the availability of this type of equipment on a state and federal level, but the time frame of receiving this equipment still has a lot of uncertainties.

Another lesson that was learned was equipment, no matter how much training you can go through and this is for all levels of response, without the proper detection, and personal equipment first responders will be helpless. For example, zero (0) of our police departments first responders have any personal protection equipment, and the time the detection devices were brought onto the scene by the hazardous materials crews there was nothing but chaos and speculation of what type of substance was actually released and how much. There needs to at least be the availability for the first arriving responders to have some line of defense or perhaps some idea of protective actions and this can only take place is proper equipment is made available to them. The possibility of a local, state and federal unified team may assist with the process by everyone being familiar and being able to access equipment more readily. Also, everyone again is familiar with each responding organization's strengths and weaknesses.

Another lesson was planning.

There are in fact very good plans that are available to all responders, however without the expertise in understanding them or the lack of understanding in how other agencies interact is a problem. There has got to be a way of working together in combining or unifying plans that would in fact be universal throughout the United States. We all understand that demographics change and needs are different throughout the Nation, however by having the Federal, State and local responders working together they can establish set plans for each State's needs. Planning this way could work no matter if it was a small community or a large municipality, the basic plan is the same and all the responding elements are not changed at all. This also goes had in hand with inter community planning or regional planning. We must not forget, especially in this case that mutual aid agreements will in fact be stretched to the absolute limit in regards to resources and manpower. How do municipalities and towns, work to guarantee that public safety is not compromised, the answer; is teaming up with the state and federal agencies to find the answers prior to any shortcomings.

Last but not least is funding. Some reoccurring questions were how much will it cost to purchase equipment, to make sure there is enough manpower, and make sure that our resources will continue to be provided to the local community. The answer to that is to ensure that legislators, representatives, and officials continue to understand that this type of event is real. That funding needs to be generated to the local municipalities so that they at least have the benefit of trying to reduce any effects caused by such an incident. I think this is a serious issue, one that Federally we are prepared for, but locally we are not. We must not err on the side of making sure there will be a continual flow of funding to local and state agencies to help us combat this issue.

Finally, I think overall this exercise provided us with essential information that we as first responders need to address now. I feel that we in fact need to work together and start bridging the gap in communication among the diverse agencies involved with this type of incident and other incidents. I think we learned that not everyone understands what resources are available to one another, bringing me back to the point of working together. The exercise was a success in bringing everyone from all levels and backgrounds to the table and started that teamwork process. However, there still needs to be a lot more interagency training not only on a local level but also on a state and federal level. We must also not leave out the public or private agencies such as utilities, volunteers, hospitals, and media so that everyone is on the same page in promoting preparedness. I feel this is a big step in the right direction and feel confident in our leadership that they can and will be able to assist us in providing the needs set forth in the exercise. I thank you Mr. Chairman, the Committee, the State of Connecticut, the City of Bridgeport, and all the First Responders on all levels in bringing us together and helping us learn.

In conclusion, I feel that to ensure that the first responders and local governments are fully trained, equipped and prepared to handle this issue, Our government and federal and state agencies must make it a priority that they the must not lose focus on the local level. I feel it makes sense that all States have their own Response Teams in place to quicken response time for resources, expertise, and equipment in responding to local municipalities needs. These teams could be unified with all levels of response joined together as one. We can always learn from each other. I also feel to remain ahead of these cowardly individuals we need to immediately find ways to provide funds or assistance to the localities and State and not promises. I think and believe, if an organization or community is prepared enough or have taken preventive steps to minimize loss then many problems can in fact be reduced over time. I still remain optimistic that we will in fact someday minimize potential threats within the United States. But for this to be established all agencies at all levels must work together. Remember when events like Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center occurred it just didn't impact those cities or communities, it impacted a Nation.

We must ensure that we will work together to save lives and protect property not only of the citizens of our community but of the Nation. I want to thank the Committee for exploring this issue and for hopefully helping local municipalities like the City of Bridgeport and its first responders in bridging the gap between the federal government.