Partnership for Preparedness
Against Terrorism
Contact:
Russell C. Coile, Ph.D., CEM
Disaster Coordinator/
Emergency Program Manager
Pacific Grove Fire Department
600 Pine Avenue
Pacific Grove, CA 93950–3317
Tel: 831–648–3110
Fax: 831–648–3107
E-mail: russell@coile.com

Program Type:
Preparedness against terrorist
attack.

Target Population:
City residents.

Setting:
Open areas of the city.

Project Startup Date:
1997.

 Program Description:
A partnership between the Pacific Grove Fire Department and the Naval Postgraduate School’s Institute for Joint Warfare Analysis in Monterey has been formed to examine methods of response by local authorities for terrorist attacks using chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. Because one city’s fire, police, and public works departments will have to cope for the first few hours of an incident with just the help of neighboring cities, the partnership and other local organizations have begun an exercise program to collect real-world data on response and reaction times during those first few critical hours. These data are being used to develop a response model that can be used in simulation studies for “what if?” scenarios to analyze and improve local response.

The initial project of this program has been a multicasualty incident exercise with associated data collection designed specifically for response model development. This first exercise, with 65 victims, was held in November 1997. It employed 10 fire engines from 7 nearby cities, 5 ambulances, a medical helicopter, the facilities of 4 hospitals, Pacific Grove police, California Highway Patrol, Monterey County coroner, amateur radio operators, 3 Red Cross emergency response vehicles, and a Salvation Army canteen vehicle. The next planned exercise is a multicasualty hazardous materials incident that will require appropriate protection for disaster response personnel, victims, and the general public. The third exercise will incorporate the complications of a terrorist crime scene with FBI and law enforcement participation.

Evaluation Information:
Participating fire departments from neighboring cities, four hospitals, ambulance units, and medical helicopter services have all expressed their appreciation for the exercise program and the Naval Postgraduate School’s services.

Annual Budget:
None.