Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Local emergency officials have plans in place

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2003 04:42:03 -0500

Local emergency officials have plans in place

BY ELIZABETH EAKEN
Times Staff Writer

The emergency management officials from
Northwest Indiana and the south suburbs said
Wednesday night they are ready to face any
crisis.

Deputy Calumet City Fire Chief Dan Smits said
local emergency planning agencies in the south
suburbs met Wednesday afternoon and are well
prepared to protect their citizens.

"We would remind businesses that they should
continue to review their emergency plans and
security procedures," Smits said. "Other than
that, the fire departments are well prepared with
mutual aid plans, should something occur, that
allows us to call on our colleagues as far away
as St. Louis."

Phil Griffith, the director of the Porter County Emergency Management Agency, said a
Northwest Indiana coalition of five counties including Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper and
Newton converse on a regular basis. Griffith said he and Lake County's EMA Director
Jeffrey Miller have the same Nextel system so they can communicate instantly in the event
of a disaster.

If residents in the five-county area hear warning sirens, he said they should tune to
105.5 FM WLJE in
Valparaiso. Griffith said the radio station will broadcast evacuation routes or any other
emergency
procedures if there is a disaster or attack.

In the event of a terrorist attack or any disaster, he would activate the county's
emergency activation
center.

"We put a whole set of stuff in place last week. It started with the probability of war
starting. We've
been working with the Sheriff's Department and we met with all the fire departments last
night," Griffith
said.

He said they have begun tracking all the resources available in the county -- from what
departments
have personnel on vacation to what equipment is out of service.

"If we would have an incident, we are better able to move our resources around. The
Sheriff's
Department and other agencies have all stepped up their patrols to try and make sure we
don't tie up
resources where they're not needed."

For now, Griffith said he and other EMA directors will remain glued to their televisions
and will continue
to monitor the police and fire radios.

Elizabeth Eaken can be reached at [email-masked] or (219) 933-4183.

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2003/03/20/news/region_and_state/e834ae7ef2e6b71f86256cef00220210.txt

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