Municipal officials have
until Oct. 1 to show their support for a federal emergency management
strategy if they want to qualify for grants from the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.
The Northwest Municipal Conference has alerted member communities of
the requirement. All governing bodies are required to adopt a resolution
stating they will comply with the Department of Homeland Security's
National Incident Management System by the end of the month in order to
qualify for federal grants that cover the costs of enhancing safety and
security.
"I strongly encourage all towns to pass a
resolution in September so they can be compliant and be Cheapest
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able to receive funding," said Mark Fowler,
executive director of the Northwest Municipal Conference. "As I understand
it, this is the opportunity to do it."
According to the Department of Homeland Security's Web site, the
incident management system "establishes standardized incident management
processes, protocols, and procedures that all responders -- federal,
state, tribal and local -- will use to coordinate and conduct response
actions.
"With responders using the same standardized
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focus, and will be able to place full emphasis on incident
management when a homeland security incident occurs -- whether terrorism
or natural disaster. In addition, national preparedness and readiness in
responding to and recovering from an incident is enhanced since all of the
nation's emergency teams and authorities are using a common language and
set of procedures."
The department has allocated or awarded more than $8 billion for
security measures since March 2003. The first round of grants given
directly to fire departments was allocated in June, worth nearly $750
million spread across 8,000 awards.
"Eventually there will be (money available)," he said. "Towns should
sign up for this to receive money."
Fowler said many member communities have already
adopted the needed resolution, but there Discount Cigarettes, cigarettes
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cigarettes online ! are still a few that have not. Located in Des
Plaines, the Northwest Municipal Conference consists of 45 municipalities
in Cook, Lake, McHenry, DuPage and Kane counties.
The grants cover a wide array of needs, mainly those of fire
departments and police departments. Grants can be obtained to purchase
equipment, educate the public about disaster response and prevention, or
provide training to first responders.
$200,000 for Niles
Homeland Security funding has helped the Niles
Police Department pay for special training cigarettes,
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and several items of new equipment.
The department has received $200,000 in funding. Of that amount,
$150,000 was used to purchase new Nextel radios that allow officers to
communicate with city officials, members of the fire department and other
municipalities.
"It was a nice thing to get, especially at this time of shrinking
budgets," said Commander John Fryksdale of the Niles Police Department.
The remainder of the funding comes from a grant through the U.S.
Department of Justice. It has been used to pay for officer overtime in
order to train officers in terrorism response, Fryksdale said.
In July, officers underwent rapid deployment training inside a vacant
Golf Mill storefront. The training took place on two consecutive Sundays,
and officers wore protective gear and used paintball guns instead of
actual weapons.
Rapid deployment training was developed nationwide following the
Columbine High School shootings. Officers are taught how to aggressively
go after an active shooter or terrorist, Fryksdale said.
In addition to training, the grant has also been used to purchase gas
masks, protective equipment and chemical suits for the department.
Although the Niles Fire Department has not received Homeland Security
funding, it has used a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) to replace portable radios and self contained breathing apparatus.
The grant, totaling $64,000, is being used over a four-year period, said
Fire Chief Harry Kinowski.
Through the Department of Homeland Security, Maine Township's Emergency
Management Agency was able to form the Community Emergency Response Team
(CERT) which trains citizens in disaster preparedness and techniques used
in emergency situations. Dozens of citizens have graduated from the
successful program, and Niles is beginning a CERT program as well.
Training for Metra
Metra used a $3.3 million grant through the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security in March to provide terrorist awareness training for each of its
4,000 employees.
Being on the lookout for nervous passengers and
left-behind items were among key points http://www.ez-cigarettes.com/tobacco/online_cigarettes.html
discussed by educators from the National Transit
Institute, a federally funded group on public transportation safety at
Rutgers University.
According to Metra's director of media relations, Judy Pardonnet, top
on the list of unattended things to watch out for were cellular phones,
which were used as detonators in multiple train bombings in Madrid on
March 11.
Some of the grant money was used to buy additional surveillance
equipment for Metra stations.
Referring to possible chemical attacks, Pardonnet said:
"They talked about what it would look like," Pardonnet said. "You can
have such concentrated amounts that it could be as small as one soda
bottle and it could really do a lot of damage."
Since Sept. 11, 2001 Metra has added security personnel aboard trains
and
officers to its internal police department.
"Since 9/11 we've been on heightened awareness," she said. "Our police
department has been in contact with Homeland Security every single day."
She said that in May a man was taken into custody by Bartlett police
after Metra crew members notified authorities of a passenger who was
acting suspicious.
"He was so nervous that he started smoking cigarettes on board the
train," Pardonnet said. "He was asking crew specifically about restrooms
aboard the train. That concerned the crew so they contacted the police and
he was removed from the train."
