Madison is responding to what federal officials describe as an increased threat of bioterrorism by upgrading its emergency-response equipment and communicating more vigilantly with agencies throughout the city and state.
Madison Fire Department Division Chief Marcia Holtz said the fire department has always had decontamination equipment, air monitoring devices and personal protective equipment, but has upgraded its capabilities by purchasing more.
The decontamination equipment consists of portable showers that allow the fire department to remove agents from anyone who may have been exposed.
The fire department purchased three additional decontamination units costing $5,000 to $10,000 each, a “vast improvement,” according to Holtz, who said they would be able to decontaminate many more affected people per hour.
The fire department also bought seven air monitors that when brought to a site, can detect and categorize agents in the air and water. Priced between $8,000 and $10,000, Holtz said the new equipment “helps assess the risk to our community, our property and our first responders.”
The fire department also spent between $10,000 and $20,000 to upgrade its personal protective equipment. The sets include suits and respiratory equipment capable of protecting against biological agents that could affect the nervous, respiratory and circulatory systems.
The Madison Fire Department is one of eight Hazardous Materials Regional Response Teams in the state, which are designed to be the first responders to any bioterrorism threat.
Holtz said there are no federal or state mandates for purchasing equipment, but all eight teams have mostly the same equipment.
“We rely heavily on advice from the Center for Disease Control, the FBI, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and now the Department of Homeland Security,” Holtz said.
Bioterrorism preparedness coordinator for the city of Madison Department of Public Health Ken Van Horn said prior to Sept. 11 most public agencies joked about the possibility of a nuclear, biological or chemical terrorist attack.
“When new threats came out after 9/11, and especially after the anthrax letter scares, we have evaluated what we need to protect ourselves from a bioterrorist attack,” Van Horn said.
Van Horn said the role of the Department of Public Health includes testing for residual contamination to decide if an area is safe to inhibit or setting up a clinic for vaccinations.
However, Population Protection Planner for the Dane County Department of Emergency Management Ray Pena said the fire department might not always be the first responders to a bioterrorist threat.
If the effects of an agent are not obvious, hospitals or the Department of Public Health may be the first to become aware.
Pena said the distribution of equipment purchased with federal and state funds for various departments is based on an evaluation of just which upgrades are necessary.
“Madison has always had very good fire and police departments and hospitals. What they are doing now is adjusting to the particular threat of terrorism,” Pena said.
