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Florida's Best Practices:
City and Member County Responses A - C
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Alachua County
Commission Chairman Rodney J. Long
Alachua County Emergency Management Response
A Unified Command Team was formed and is comprised of the operations commanders representing all public safety, emergency services and public service agencies in Alachua County. Additionally, a Unified Command Executive Board comprised of the CEOs for each agency was formed to address all jurisdictional and funding issues raised by the Unified Command Team. We are conducting training and have held a tabletop drill involving all agencies.
All public safety and emergency services personnel have completed Emergency Response to Terrorism Awareness Level Training.
All public safety and emergency services personnel have completed Basic Incident Command Training.
Representatives of Alachua County Fire Rescue are assigned members and participate on the Northeast Regional Domestic Security Task Force and the Education Subcommittee of the Statewide Working Group.
Additional equipment and training has been received by the Gainesville/Alachua County Hazardous Materials Team to attain designation as a Regional Disaster Response Team (DRT).
Alachua County has received equipment and training to establish a Hazardous Materials Response Team in support of the Regional DRT.
Alachua County and Marion County are discussing the potential for joining efforts to form a Type III Technical Rescue Urban Search and Rescue Team.
The Office of Emergency Management is forming a Citizens Corps Council under the president’s initiative to pursue grant opportunities through the State of Florida.
Representatives of Alachua County Fire Rescue are working jointly with the University of Florida to enhance terrorism and weapons of mass destruction security and response plans for sporting facilities and events.
Alachua County Fire Rescue has purchased personal protection equipment for all department fire- and medical-response personnel.
Alachua County formed the Preparing Alachua County for Emergency (P.A.C.E.) Team. P.A.C.E. is comprised of representatives from all county departments to review and update departmental emergency plan.
Contact Person:
Will Gray May, Jr., Emergency Services Director
Alachua County Fire Rescue
P.O. Box 548
Gainesville, FL 32602
Phone: (352) 384-3101
E-mail: wmay@co.alachua.fl.us
City of Boca Raton
Mayor Steven L. Abrams
Boca Raton Emergency Management Response
The events of September 11, 2001, and the local anthrax contamination of the American Media, Inc. (AMI) building caused the City of Boca Raton to examine its procedures related to mass casualty incidents (MCI) and incidents involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Although the city’s immediate response to both 9/11 and the AMI scene was successful, the after-action critiques identified several deficiencies. Most important were interagency coordination along with common training and equipment between first responder agencies (police, fire-rescue and emergency-room personnel.)
During the crisis, police and fire-rescue staff met to address the predominate concern – the extreme rise in response to suspicious substance and package calls (27 percent). Because of the independent roles, each call required an entire hazardous material unit and police response, consuming unnecessary resources. An impromptu, rapid training program between police and fire-rescue was implemented resulting in a single, 2-person unit (one police officer and one HazMat technician) assigned to handle suspicious substance calls. The concept is still in place and has been activated several times since.
The anthrax contamination of AMI identified several unique problems. Prior to the incident, it was recognized that fire-rescue personnel should be trained to operate in lethal-force environments, thus medics were assigned to the SWAT Team in 1998. AMI suggested that SWAT officers should be trained to operate in hazardous materials and/or WMD environments. Additionally, the emergency-room personnel, where victims may be transported or present themselves, were not included in any training or response plan.
Subsequent to AMI, the city’s first responders, police, fire-rescue and emergency-room staff met to develop, train and test response plans to MCI and WMD incidents. As a result, a “Coordinated Community First Responder Plan” was created. Funded by two grants, the Byrne Memorial grant and Emergency Medical Services grant, all three entities have embarked on a mission to accomplish the following:
Develop a coordinated response for MCI/WMD incidents.
Train personnel on Incident Command/Unified Command.
Fire-rescue will continue to support training for paramedics assigned to SWAT.
Police services will continue to train officers for hazardous materials/WMD environments.
Together, SWAT officers and hazardous materials technicians will attend advanced training on WMD incidents at federally funded training sites.
First responder agencies will purchase early detection equipment and similar personal protective equipment for all personnel. (Equipment can be exchanged during an incident.)
First responder agencies will receive similar, coordinated training.
Together, all first responders will conduct annual training exercises to test the capabilities/deficiencies of the program.
Through the community’s experience many lessons were learned. Most importantly to be able to work together and respond rapidly. Departments must understand each other’s roles and be similarly trained and equipped.
Although there are county, state and federal systems in place, the first response is up to the local professionals. Relying on other resources is not an option when faced with a WMD/MCI incident. The City of Boca Raton’s Coordinated Community First Responder Plan is a solution to handle the immediate incident, and preserve life and property, by working through proprietary issues. The end result is a prepared community.
Contact Person:
Captain Rick Reuter
Boca Raton Police Services Department
100 N.W. Boca Raton Boulevard
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Phone: (561) 338-1250
E-mail: RReuter@ci.boca-raton.fl.us
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City of Brooksville
Mayor E.E. “Ernie” Wever, Jr.
Brooksville Emergency Management Response
In response to the terrorist attacks on America, the City of Brooksville has updated its Emergency Response Plan. The city also expanded the capabilities of the Brooksville Emergency Response Team through joint exercises in bio-hazard decontamination with the National Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and the Veteran’s Administration Decon Team.
The city has also acquired additional HazMat equipment and protective apparel, including first responder encapsulated suits, expanded HazMat team membership by including employees with HazMat Technician Certification, and increased security measures at city utility plants.
Contact Person:
Richard E. Anderson, City Manager
City of Brooksville
201 Howell Avenue
Brooksville, FL 34601
Phone: (352) 544-5435
E-mail: Randerson@ci.brooksville.fl.us
Broward County
Mayor Diana Wasserman-Rubin
Broward County Emergency Management Response
In July 2001, Broward County established a countywide multi-disciplined terrorism task force to discuss issues. The group, although in its infancy, played a crucial role in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Broward County was faced with thousands of “unknown substance” calls as a result of the anthrax episode in Palm Beach County. Although many municipalities had guidelines to handle an occasional “unknown substance” or hazardous material incident, none were capable of responding to the high volume of calls received immediately following the episode. The task force developed a credible threat process and uniform procedure to handle such calls. The procedure, which was adopted by all the municipalities within the county, was able to eliminate much confusion and save valuable time and resources.
Also, Broward County developed the Broward Emergency Support Team (BEST), which is comprised of a multifaceted group of volunteers who are trained, equipped and prepared to respond to large-scale incidents requiring extensive support. The team is comprised of structural engineers, microbiologists, pathologists, water experts, toxicologists, and a host of additional specialties, which train regularly with public safety officials in scene management. The objective is that this team would be assembled and available as an information resource to the on-scene incident commander within one hour of request.
The county’s four hazardous materials teams have increased their detection capabilities. All Broward County firefighters have completed at least the 16-hour Department of Justice Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Basic Concepts Course. The operational level training for the company officers, hazardous materials technicians and EMS personnel has been taught numerous times. Law enforcement officers are currently receiving similar training and it has been estimated that all law enforcement personnel will have completed at least 12 hours of WMD training by December 2002.
In addition to the tangible enhancements, such as training and equipment, that have resulted from the terrorist attacks in 2001, there is one element that has emerged that cannot be measured – the interaction, communications and cooperation among law enforcement, firefighters and EMS communities. All first response agencies have seen the need to better coordinate and work with the local emergency management agency as well.
Contact Person:
Paulette Kandel, Operations Manager
Broward Emergency Management Agency
201 N.W. 84th Avenue
Plantation, FL 33324
Phone: (954) 831-3916
E-mail: pkandel@broward.org
City of Cape Coral
Mayor Arnold E. Kempe
Cape Coral Emergency Management Response
The City of Cape Coral is a participating member of the Region Six Florida Domestic Security Task Force. Police department staff attends the regularly scheduled meetings where information exchange facilitates intelligence coordination with all area agencies so that Cape Coral communities may be kept safe.
The city is in the process of obtaining personal protection equipment through a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) grant initiative. The furtherance of the equipment issue (use and training) will be through and with the assistance and partnership of the Cape Coral Fire Department. The City of Cape Coral’s public safety departments (fire and police) plan to continue coordination of efforts through meetings whereby plans are developed and roles can be clearly defined.
Cape Coral keeps abreast of current homeland security issues through daily Internet intelligence. Intelligence information obtained by the Cape Coral Police Department is passed to the designated lead anti-terrorist law enforcement agencies (FDLE and FBI) that oversee anti-terrorist enforcement.
Within the Cape Coral community, a town hall meeting was held where information was passed along to attending members of the community. There also was a question and answer period. Other efforts to interact with the community will be explored, developed and implemented in order to increase awareness and cooperation.
Currently in the planning phase are field exercises with the area health care community in the event of terrorist activities such as weapons of mass destruction and biological and hazardous material contamination.
Contact Person:
Lt. Robert S. Petrovich
Cape Coral Police Department
P.O. Box 150027
Cape Coral, FL 33915-0027
Phone: (239) 574-0660
E-mail: rpetrovi@capecoral.net
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City of Clearwater
Mayor Brian Aungst, Sr.
Clearwater Emergency Management Response
It has been over a year since America was attacked and brought into a still-escalating world war – one complicated by the uneasiness of evolving geo-politics and the frustration of fighting seemingly invisible enemies. The City of Clearwater has become more “emergency-aware” as the threat of terrorism escalates (both globally and nationally). The city continues to prepare for this type of emergency should one happen.
The City of Clearwater has initiated a variety of proactive measures to help ensure the safety of Clearwater’s residents, visitors and employees. First, a Safety & Security Task Force was created to identify critical facilities throughout the city, and to assess and evaluate security of infrastructure. Also, many departments have identified security deficiencies and have installed better security measures. For example, a building that was once unlocked may frequently be locked during certain hours of the day, or a card swipe system might have been installed at certain facilities. Further, policies and procedures are being developed, as is the fostering of and improving of relations with a large area hospital to jointly facilitate an Emergency Operations Center.
The city’s Fire Department is also working proactively to mitigate a potential terrorist-related emergency. First, the department has placed radiation detection and monitoring equipment on emergency apparatus and is exercising security measures to protect department facilities. Second, it is enhancing communication with the city’s Police Department through a negotiated agreement with the county 9-1-1 communication system. This would allow direct communication between field units while retaining proprietary dispatch support even though the two systems are dissimilar. During large-scale incidents this increased communication capability will be critical. As part of a statewide network, the Fire Department receives daily communications on current threat assessments that include potential terrorist activity as well as drought and fire conditions statewide. Additionally, protective clothing and equipment for firefighters and EMS personnel has been placed on all response units, and first responder paramedic personnel have been trained and equipped to provide medical treatment related to a bio-terrorism incident. Lastly, the department is preparing to publish various public-safety pamphlets covering terrorist acts and bio-terrorism events in an effort to provide community members with an understanding of the city’s preparedness efforts and inform them of preventative measures they can take on their own behalf.
The Clearwater Police Department has been a part of this proactive effort while still being committed to providing Clearwater citizens the best law enforcement protection possible. Since 9/11, Police Chief Sid Klein has been active as a chairman head in the Regional Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF), which was developed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement under direction of the Governor’s Office. The RDSTF was formed for the purpose of organizing all law enforcement assets in the State of Florida to better protect its citizens. As chairman of the region’s equipment committee, he was tasked with providing a comprehensive inventory of equipment available in the event of a terrorist incident. Upon survey completion the results were forwarded to the RDSTF; this information was used to determine the necessary equipment for first responders (i.e. police and fire) regarding a terrorism incident. Second, the chief assigned a detective to assist the task force in investigation and follow-up of leads that could affect our community.
Further, police staff members have taken the lead in gathering and correlating intelligence information relative to terrorism, and to equip and train department personnel to be better prepared to protect Clearwater’s citizens. Next, the Clearwater Police Department has just taken delivery of needed equipment. Additional training has begun for all sworn personnel in particular agencies directly dealing with first-responder awareness, and new policies and procedures on how to respond to like incidents. Finally, the department is actively proceeding with the purchase and installation of state-of-the-art audio and video equipment into its Mobile Command Platform. Upon completion, the mobile platform will be used in community forums for education and for major incident responses like terrorism.
By partnering with various City of Clearwater departments, the ability to understand and mitigate unfolding incidents in our community will be greatly enhanced. By working together the city can learn more about emergency response mitigation.
Contact Person:
Garry Brumback, Assistant City Manager
City of Clearwater
100 Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33756
Phone: (727) 562-4053
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City of Clewiston
Mayor Mali Chamness
Clewiston Emergency Management Response
The Police Department is an active member of the S.W. Florida Domestic Security Task Force.
The Police Department, in cooperation with the task force, identified 10 “high risk” facilities within the city. Information on infrastructure, location, contents, personnel and existing security, as well as environmental or economic impact, was forwarded to the task force and subsequently integrated within the statewide plan.
The identified sites are on a daily security check by departmental officers. Each officer is required to physically inspect each site during his or her tour of duty. Unusual events, people or activities are investigated, logged and recorded.
The Police Department electronically monitors the briefings and warnings sent out by the national and statewide Domestic Security Task Force.
Biohazard suits for first responders have been ordered.
Emergency preparedness plans have been thoroughly reviewed.
The city’s water plant and wastewater treatment plants are accessible only through a manned security gate.
Non-city employees are prohibited from accessing the city’s hydrants.
Contractors can only access bulk water through a metered standpipe located behind the Police Department.
All gates are closed and locked during all after-hour callouts.
No private vehicles are allowed inside the public works compound.
Chemical tanks on mosquito trucks have locks to prevent anything from being added to them. Entry into mosquito bay has been restricted to authorized personnel only.
Contact Person:
Bonilyn Wilbanks-Free, City Manager
City of Clewiston
115 W. Ventura Avenue
Clewiston, FL 33440
Phone: (863) 983-1484
Fax: (863) 983-4055
City of Cocoa Beach
Mayor Skip Beeler
Cocoa Beach Emergency Management Response
In response to the attacks on America in 2001, the Cocoa Beach Fire Department has implemented a response plan for mass casualty and weapons of mass destruction. Administrators from the Cocoa Beach Fire Department have attended regional collaborative meetings in Orlando and Brevard County. The department has assigned members of its staff to be active participants on the Regional Domestic Security Task Force.
Additionally, firefighters from the City of Cocoa Beach have undergone mandatory terrorism classes within the city, county and National Fire Academy, and continue to do so periodically. The city has implemented neighborhood watch programs and participates in the Brevard County Emergency Response Team.
Contact Person:
Ron Williams, Chief
Cocoa Beach Fire Department
20 S. Orlando Avenue
Cocoa Beach, FL 32932-2430
Phone: (321) 868-3251
E-mail: rwilliams@ci.cocoa-beach.fl.us
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