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<br />tt-- <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Communitv Response to the Threat of Terrorism - A Public Enzitv Risk Institute SvmDosium <br /> <br />Emergency Management System (SEMS). This system mandates that we all utilize the <br />same management framework as we manage critical incidents and disaster operations, <br /> <br />When I was interviewing Senator Petris he said something very interesting about <br />his conducl of the investigation into the fire, He said that one of the lessons he had learned <br />was that if you really wanted to know what's going on, ask Ihe people on the bottom of the <br />pile, He said thai bosses have turf to protecl, and Ihat you gel the most honesl responses <br />from the action people who are oul doing the job in the field, <br /> <br />He felt that the closer you got to the action, the more people were inclined 10 be <br />uncompromising, upfront, and forthright about what happened - what went well, what <br />went bad, and how to fix it. <br /> <br />That's what I want you to do. Go on your Own fact-finding tour. These issues are <br />too important to the lives of the people you are responsible for. Get out of your office, go <br />find a worker type out in the field, lake them aside to some place they can relax (go buy <br />them a cup of coffee or lunch), and ask them a couple of key questions, <br /> <br />Tell them you will respect Iheir confidentiality and ask them 10 respect your fact <br />finding process by not discussing the interview. This will give them an out if their boss <br />asks them what was discussed. They can say that they were told to refer all queslions to <br />you, and not to talk about the interview. All good bosses should have no trouble with you <br />talking to their troops, <br /> <br />If you are a business manager or building manager, you need to understand that you <br />are the crilicallhird part to a critical incident response, The actions of you or your staff <br />musl mesh wilh those of police and fire, You have a vested interest in this process and <br />should talk to your elected officials aboul conducling a fact-finding and make sure thai the <br />results are shared. <br /> <br />Most agencies may have trained specific personnel, but the numbers of these <br />special people are very small and there is no guarantee thai any of them will be available if <br />an actual terrorist event occurs, The big gap from my perspeclive has been thai none of the <br />line level palrol officers and firefighters has received any of the training and drillings that <br />they need to respond to a terrorisl incident. <br /> <br />This extends to the problem that none of the line police officers or firefighters have <br />participated in actual drills together. The only way thai we really learn how 10 function <br />properly as a learn in a crilical incident is by training and drilling together. We're so short <br />handed that managemenl is reluctanllo take these officers off the streel and spend the <br />significant time it would take 10 lrain all ofthem how to work 10gether. Because of this <br />problem, a few elite people such as a SWAT team or Hazmat team may have been trained, <br />but none of this training has trickled down to the line police officers and firefighters who <br />are going to be Ihe actual first responders to a terrorist incident. <br /> <br />Unified Command at a Terrorist Incident <br /> <br />2 <br />