Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wicomico coalition plans for possible

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 10:53:38 -0500

Wicomico coalition plans for possible attack
Task force to examine emergency readiness in event of
terrorist assault

By Joe E. Carmean Jr.
Daily Times Staff Writer

SALISBURY -- Task Force Wicomico, a coalition of county public safety officials, will
meet today to discuss emergency preparedness in response to the U.S. invasion of
Iraq and the nation's security level upgrade to high alert.

Wicomico residents have made hundreds of phone calls to government offices asking
about potential terrorist attacks and how to protect themselves, county officials
confirmed Monday.

In response, officials from the county's emergency services, the American Red Cross,
the health department, fire and EMS services, sheriff's office, state police and other
municipal law enforcement agencies will congregate at the Government Office Building
in Salisbury to publicize agency readiness plans should terrorists attack the Lower
Shore.

George Roache, spokesman for Wicomico County, said the county's 911 dispatch
center has been receiving calls with questions ranging from where to buy gas masks
to fall-out shelters.

"We haven't had fall-out shelters since the 1960s," he said. "And gas masks can only
be purchased from the military and won't even do any good since during true chemical
warfare, chemicals enter through the skin. Without an entire protective suit, there is
little use for a gas mask."

Roache said many residents also have asked whether they should use duct tape and
plastic sheeting to block cracks and crevices in their homes.

"There is a lot of misinformation out there," said Sandy Wheatley, director of
Wicomico's Emergency Services. "People in some countries are used to living like
this, but this is all foreign to us. We don't know how to react, so most people are
looking for guidance."

Wheatley said Americans now must learn to live with terrorism, and Wicomico
emergency services officials have developed a pamphlet to help residents. The
brochure is called "A Citizen's Guide to Terrorism Preparedness" and will be available
at the Wicomico County Free Library, most banks and other high-traffic public places
in the coming weeks.

"It's a new way of life that we've never had to deal with before," Wheatley said. "That's
why we want to get this information out there so people know how to prepare
themselves."

Wicomico also will designate a public information office as the primary center for
questions regarding terrorism and preparedness, Roache said.

Wicomico officials have begun enhancing the county's emergency response with two
new alert sirens, costing $21,300. They will be tested tonight at 6 p.m.

County officials replaced the siren at the Salisbury-Ocean City: Wicomico Regional
Airport and installed another in the Pemberton neighborhood. There are nearly 20
sirens throughout Wicomico County, Roache said.

http://www.delmarvanow.com/news/stories/20030325/topstories/1245243.html
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