Emergency Response, Five Years Later

By Elizabeth Yerkes
Published on 9/7/2006
Shore Publishing - Madison, CT

Stonington- Five years and millions of federal dollars after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, emergency response throughout the region has beefed up many operations and atrophied in others.

Changes in disaster response began immediately after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The newly created Department of Homeland Security granted monies for emergency equipment and supplies, and required uniform incident training for local officials and first responders nationwide.

But two issues that concerned towns even before 2001 could spell deeper trouble in a future incident: a shortage of volunteers and the strong independence of town-based emergency services.

“We're better than we were then, but not as good as we should be,” said Joe Sastre, the director of Groton Emergency Communications Center, which is the only municipally operated, regional communication center in the state.

Sastre is one of many who support a regional approach to emergency management, and especially to communications.

“The best thing that happened from Sept. 11 was the communication improvement across response groups,” said Ron Kersey, emergency coordinator for Lawrence & Memorial Hospital.

Kersey said public health, Homeland Security and first responders now join L&M and other hospitals to plan together for disaster response.

“Before 9/11, first responders and first receivers tended to work on plans by themselves, never realizing how important it is to work together,” Kersey said.

Sastre said the state may have a technological solution to the fragmented communication network. The state's emergency management department is coming out with a “black box solution, like a four-language translator,” he said, which would allow first responders on different frequencies to receive the same signal.

“Right now, some towns use modern, state-of-the-art equipment, and other towns use the same radios they used 50 years ago,” Sastre said. “The net effect of that is that two trucks from different towns could be responding to the same highway fire and not be able to talk directly to each other. Or the fire department that crosses a town line to help next door can't talk to that town's ambulance.”

Talking to Each Other

Following Sept. 11, 2001, the Homeland Security Department stressed “interoperability” of equipment for first responders, such as the North Stonington Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The $800, two-way radio system, which could connect not only to nearby towns but also to emergency systems on a state level, “was of questionable success. But the idea was long overdue,” said Brian Elias, president of the ambulance corps.

“A lot of the changes were inevitable, such as better communication and security, and 9/11 was a catalyst for them,” Elias added.

A fundamental and effective step toward regional communications, however, is to use the same language. Last year, the New London County Association of Fire Chiefs agreed to use plain English in communications, in accordance with the National Incident Management System, a unified way for emergency personnel throughout the nation to respond to anything from a hazardous incident to a terrorist event.

Prior to NIMS, one responder's terminology could differ from another's in the same town or on the other side of the country, creating confusion and wasting precious time.

“In California, a 'tanker' is an airplane; here it is a kind of fire truck,” Sastre said. “Elsewhere, a 'bus' is a school bus or coach; here it is an ambulance.”

It may be difficult to conceive of regional cooperation when emergency responders within towns are so fragmented. Stonington, for example, has no fewer than six independent volunteer fire departments, each with its own equipment, chief and firefighters.

“We try as much as we can to approach everything regionally, but the towns think of themselves as different entities,” said John Phetteplace, Stonington's solid waste manager and emergency management planner.

“We're a very independent-minded people here,” Sastre added.

And independent-minded voters in North Stonington twice defeated a proposal to build an emergency operation services center that would have gathered fire personnel, the state trooper and ambulance services under one roof.

“Even though it would have eliminated redundancy in many of the town's emergency services, voters said it was more practical than essential,” Elias said.

A Need for Volunteers

Independent Yankees or not, first responders from different towns have always cooperated with each other in emergencies. But a dwindling number of volunteers has affected all-volunteer fire and ambulance corps and many other community services.

“I wish I could say yes, we saw a spike after 9/11 in volunteers getting involved with the hospital,” said Diane Brown, volunteer coordinator at The Westerly Hospital. “But actually, I'm seeing a decline. The baby boomers are not commitment-oriented. They won't commit to our program,” which asks for 100 hours minimum over the course of a year.

“We have lots of dedicated students come through our doors, but at peak times of need for volunteers, it's also their class time. Lack of volunteer personnel is a growing problem everywhere,” Brown added.

Billy Teixtera, deputy fire chief of the Stonington Borough Fire Department, confirmed that. Since Sept. 11, 2001, he said, “We've picked up more and more junior firefighters, those under 18, but not more adults.”

Elias said the North Stonington Ambulance Corps also saw no uptick in volunteers after the terrorist attacks.

“One thing to consider, though,” Brown said, “is that volunteers in services such as firefighting and ambulance corps can't afford to do that here because of the price of housing. It's a concern, because people who make our towns run with their volunteer service can't afford to live here.”

The longer-term consequences of declining volunteer numbers in coastline towns may be dire, Sastre warned. Mutual aid among fire and police departments and emergency medical technicians “is big here in Groton and the surrounding towns because of the needed manpower.”

“In the event of something like a bio-terror incident, that manpower shortage would have a short-term effect; it would take a couple of hours to get up to speed simply because of the lack of trained people,” Sastre added. “But then we would be up and running.”

The Department of Homeland Security oversees two volunteer organizations, Citizen Corps and Citizen's Emergency Response Teams. They comprise trained nurses and doctors who may have retired, but have equipment and experience. A Norwich chapter of Citizen Corps is running and active.

Also, Kersey of Lawrence & Memorial reported an increase in the number of volunteers who ride with paramedics.

“The pre-hospital arena professions have more recognition post-9/11,” Kersey said. “But make no mistake, it is dangerous. And what turns people away is that you have to be heavily trained and refreshed on that training regularly.”

First receivers such as The Westerly Hospital and Pequot Medical Center in Groton continue to prepare for medium- and large-scale emergencies. Next month the hospital will finalize its plan for a possible flu pandemic; earlier this year it participated in a bio-threat drill that originated at T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick.

Drills such as these reinforce the importance of regional communication and adequate numbers of trained first responders.

“We're a regional provider of health care, and 40 percent of our clients live in towns from Stonington to Ledyard,” said David Tranchida, Westerly Hospital's public relations director. “In reality, during a large-scale emergency, people are going to go to their nearest hospital.”