CC PACKET 04222003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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DOMESTIC TERRORISM Citizens are frightened. Police and fire services are concerned. Information is sketchy. The Federal warnings have created a lot of concerns regarding what the public is to do when a warning is issued. Law enforcement has some of these same concerns. The police department perceives these warnings as an on-going event...that being continuing to prepare for a weapons of mass destruction incident. The city is certainly vulnerable to an event such as this, due to our geographic location in the metropolitan area. We are continually working toward effective responses to an event involving a weapon of mass destruction. When we receive these warnings, it is necessary to heighten our awareness and continue working toward our ultimate goals of training and equipping ourselves to deal with a large-scale incident. A strong multi-agency commitment to working together toward a common goal of prevention, mass decontamination, patient care, and mitigation is an absolute necessity. With these thoughts in mind, we are planning with other local agencies, as well as county, state, federal, and military organizations. Private sector businesses are also being asked to be part of the contingency planning. We have come a long way toward these goals since September 11, 2001. Since then, we have: • Worked with the fire department refining our emergency response procedures • Updated our city's emergency operations plan • Sponsored seminars on the Minnesota Incident Management System for all city departments • Attended educational seminars on weapons of mass destruction and explored resources available should we encounter such an event • Worked closely with Hennepin and Ramsey County Divisions of Emergency Management • Have made grant requests for both personal protective and decontamination equipment • Worked with public utilities to secure our water supply 16