Published: August 21, 2007 09:45 am         

Security and emergency preparedness progressing

CUMBERLAND - Fresh from a meeting with Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Allegany County's director of homeland security is confident that the county will continue to make progress in its emergency readiness and response.

Gary Moore said that Wednesday's meeting with the governor and officials from across the state to discuss homeland security was "a very informative meeting."

"I appreciated most the interest the governor has taken to be involved personally and to go over the 12 issues and how he feels abut them. That's the first time in my career that a chief executive has become that personally involved," said Moore, who attended the session along with Allegany County Commissioners James Stakem and Dale Lewis and Dick DeVore, Allegany County director of emergency management.

The 12 issues the governor addressed included interoperable communications; information sharing and intelligence; hazardous materials and explosive device response; protective equipment for first responders; bio-surveillance; vulnerability assessment; training and exercises; closed circuit TV network; mass casualty/hospital surge; planning; backup power and communications; and transportation security.

Moore has submitted reports on all 12 points and the county's status concerning each of those homeland security issues.

"We are very well-prepared. We have a lot of strengths and a few weaknesses but overall, we are very well-prepared to respond to any unusual event should it come our way," he said.

Concerning interoperable communications - the ability for agencies to communicate on common radio channels - Moore said Allegany County is moving forward. "We are now in the process of upgrading the 911 communications center and we are moving in the direction of interoperable communications.

"Interoperable is a big problem from one end of the country to the other and it's an issue that all the states and the federal government are jointly working on. I know it is one of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's main issues that he is pushing hard.

"If you can't talk, you can't get anything done. You have to have a united approach in emergency response under the direction of an incident commander and communication is most important. You can't have command and control if you can't talk," said Moore.

In the meeting held at the Ocean City Convention Center, O'Malley expressed gratitude that "local emergency managers and Maryland top homeland security representatives were able to meet with me today to discuss the state's homeland security capacities."

"As we work to improve homeland security and public safety in every region of our state, it is critical that our emergency managers and first responders are working together and sharing information," he said.

Andy Lauland, the governor's homeland security adviser, noted that "homeland security and emergency preparedness begin at the local level, and the governor is committed to making sure each jurisdiction is focused on the basic capacities that are the foundation of prevention and response."

The discussion took place as part of the Maryland Association of Counties summer conference.

Jeffrey Alderton can be reached at jlalderton@times-news.com.