Wisconsin officials are working to ensure Dane County’s security by boosting its anti-terrorism defense in light of its high priority since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Since 1998, Dane County secured over $3 million in federal grants to combat terrorism. Officials continue to work toward patching up any existing problems.
Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said the county has dealt with disaster preparation for several years.
“We began preparing for a natural or unnatural disaster before the 9/11 happened,” Falk said. “So we have aggressively gone after funds in order for us to prepare training and buy federal equipment.”
The aid began as the result of concerns following several incidents, most notably the Oklahoma City bombing, the 1993 World Trade Center attack and a case of biological terrorism carried out in a Japanese subway.
An assessment was conducted in 1998 in order to identify the most viable targets in Dane County. This led to increased awareness throughout the local area and to the use of a target identification model commended by the U.S. Department of Justice, and which is currently used throughout the country.
The federal government distributed funds to several Dane county programs to assist in a number of aspects of terror prevention and disaster relief. These grants include $880,000 received in the fall of 2001 to prepare for the medical response to a biological, nuclear, chemical or explosive attack and $915,524 secured in a 2003 State Homeland Security Grant designed to provide protection and equipment for first responders.
Dane County reserved money for developing evacuation procedures, toxic suits and equipment, informational forums for medical personnel and instructions on handling chemical and biological weapons. A 2002 Domestic Preparedness Program grant gave Dane County $186,840 for a bomb robot.
Dane County Emergency Management planner Ray Pena indicated that emergency planning and communication is especially important.
“We need to develop a system that will enable us to manage people in and out of disaster zones,” Pena said.
Dane County officials said they hope the Reverse 911 system, currently in development, will accomplish this goal. This system would allow county officials to send out a recorded message to people living in an area that has been affected by a disaster.
Falk and Pena said a Reverse 911 line in place could prove to be invaluable, especially during the night, when many people are away from media sources.
Dane County officials are hoping to have the Reverse 911 system operational by the end of this year.
With the increase in funding and planning, Pena said continued inter-agency cooperation is essential in meeting the goal of minimizing any damage from a prospective attack.
“We need to continue to assess our capabilities and work together with state and federal agencies.”
