The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Officials from four states are in St. Louis this week to discuss preparing their communities for possible terrorist attacks. Chief in their strategy is enlisting a legion of volunteers and training them in basic emergency response skills.
Homeland security officials said they will launch media campaigns and grass-roots efforts to bolster their “Citizen Corps"-- a key element in President Bush’s $3.5 billion federal initiative for next year.
Karen Marsh, community coordinator chief with the Washington-based Office of National Preparedness, is meeting with police, fire officials and emergency management officers from Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.
She said the first people on the scene of an attack would most likely be teachers, students, factory workers and doctors, along with police and firefighters. Everyone must learn basic emergency response skills to better react in these situations, she said.
Marsh said people will hear more about Citizen Corps soon because Bush has asked Congress for more than $200 million to start these programs nationwide.
She said the program’s goal calls for emergency management officials to pass on their expertise through existing volunteer groups.
As an example, Marsh mentioned Belvidere, Ill., one of the first communities to put the program into effect. She said the northern Illinois community established a Citizen Corps Council composed of volunteer groups such as a Hispanic cultural organization, fire and police officials and business leaders.
Belvidere has recruited everyday people to learn emergency response techniques, Marsh said. She said most communities will soon create their own councils.
Families must also know how to create their own response plans so they are not caught off guard, which Marsh said happened to many families in New York last year. She suggested parents decide who would pick up the children from school and where to go if they could not get home.