Maryland?s cities and counties are leading the charge in planning for a deadly flu outbreak or other emergency but the state is struggling to catch up and Marylanders may be tuning out.
“For the state of Maryland … almost every jurisdiction has a radio truck where they could talk to every first responder,” said John Droneburg, director of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. “Maryland as a state is not there yet. Getting there would mean that our state agencies could talk to each of those local jurisdictions” instantly.
Communication between agencies and jurisdictions has been an issue since before radio incompatibilities contributed to the deaths of hundreds of firefighters in the World Trade Center attacks, Droneburg said.
He addressed the Mid-Atlantic All Hazards Forum in Baltimore on Wednesday with homeland security and emergency management personnel from New York to North Carolina meeting to share strategies and update one another on emergency-response planning.
But with a nod to “pandemic flu fatigue,” officials said it was essential that people not get numb to the need to plan for the worst. Emergency planners worldwide are preparing for the possibility that avian flu might achieve the ability to spread quickly from person to person.
“Even though people cry ?pandemic fatigue,? we have to make sure people know beforehand how to be prepared,” said David Mitchell, Delaware?s Homeland Security chief and former head of the Maryland State Police.
Delaware officials put all emergency responders on an 800-megahertz communications frequency and are requiring that buildings and other structures don?t block that bandwidth.
Maryland officials were taking notes.
It?s not good enough that your police department can communicate instantly with fire department and public works, Droneburg said. “Can they talk to your neighbors?”
Or in the instance of pandemic flu, would organizations such as the Red Cross be able to provide care without getting an army of volunteers infected?
“Usually we drive our (emergency response vehicle) into a community and people come up to us,” said Laurie Willshire, senior associate for nursing with the American Red Cross. “Our model isn?t going to work, and … keep our people safe.”
