City’s ‘Emergency Operations Center’ ready if needed
As American forces invaded Iraq Wednesday evening, local officials stood ready for possible domestic attacks in Santa Monica.
Police, fire and other response workers are on “heightened alert.” Systems are in place for a variety of emergency scenarios, including chemical and biological offensives, officials said.
On Monday, the office of Homeland Security raised the national alert level to orange — the country’s second-highest level — and dubbed the domestic protection effort “Operation Liberty Shield.”
City officials, who are in constant communication with county and state intelligence officials, said there was no immediate threat to Santa Monicans and assured residents that response workers have gone through rigorous training to deal with a terrorist attack.
Santa Monica is part of a statewide mutual aid program that allocates resources to Santa Monica Police Department Lt. Frank Fabrega said the alert change from yellow (elevated risk) to orange (high risk) automatically triggered a reaction in the department.
“We’re making periodic checks at specified locations,” said Fabrega, who declined to identify specific locales in the city. “And we’re very involved with the L.A. county task force on terrorism.”
Santa Monica Fire Department Chief Ettore Berardinelli said his department has “upped” its diligence in response to the war and is prepared for the worst.
About 30 of Santa Monica’s 100 fire-fighters are authorized to work with hazardous materials, which includes chemical and biological substances, officials said. The department also is equipped with high quality, “A-level” protective suits and has devices that detect anthrax.
“We’re in a heightened state of alert,” Chief Berardinelli said. “This is our business, to be prepared. And we’re being even more diligent.”
Los Angeles County along with eight of its cities, including Santa Monica, conducted terrorist attack drills and exercises in November as part of its ongoing training efforts.
The city on Wednesday reminded its employees to stockpile three day’s worth of supplies at home, keep essential items at work in the event long shifts are required and double check emergency plans with family members and loved ones, making sure support systems are in place for children.
After some debate, officials said they have decided to keep the city’s “Emergency Operations Center,” located in the basement of City Hall, closed for now.
Fire Department Chief Mike Curtis said the city decided to keep the EOC closed because there is currently no pressing threat to the city. If it’s warranted, the response center could open in a matter of minutes.
“There was discussion (of opening the EOC),” Curtis said. “But when we looked at a copy of the likely terrorist sites, we decided against it. We’re not going to activate it unless there is a need.”
Intelligence officials have identified LAX as the most likely location of a terrorist attack in the county. The sites clos-est to Santa Monica that officials are currently watching are the Federal Building in West L.A. and the Staples Center downtown.
No locations in Santa Monica are on the list. Curtis said terrorists usually target sites with maximum exposure, such as airports and subways, or high-profile events like the Academy Awards.
“Disneyland is an international icon. The (Santa Monica) pier is not,” he said. “Terrorists are looking for a simple device that causes a lot of apprehension or terror — or dead people.”
“Terrorists are looking for a simple device that causes a lot of apprehension or terror — or dead people.” — – MIKE CURTIS Santa Monica Fire Chief
According to a statement released this week by Gov. Gray Davis, intelligence on possible homeland attacks is currently being gathered and distributed by the following sources: ■ The FBI’s Joint Terrorist Task Force, which has components at all four FBI district offices in California, shares top secret information with cleared state and local officers. ■ The California Anti-Terrorist Information Center collects information from the more than 90,000 law enforcement officers statewide and distributes it nationally. ■ The Terrorist Early Warning Groups, first established in California, consists of regional groups committed in responding to terrorist activity in their area and work with the FBI.
Representatives from every department of the city are on call 24 hours a day should something go wrong, officials said. Curtis added that the city’s response center can expand and contract, depending on the scope of the emergency. He said city employees are trained and drilled twice a year on emergency response routines.
“It’s heightened alert around here and everyone is ready,” said Judy Rambeau, a spokeswoman for the city. “But there is no immediate and present danger. It’s been determined that there is no credible threat to Santa Monica at this time.”
The SMPD urges citizens to log onto its Web site, www.santamonicapd.org for updates and information on how to respond to a variety of emergencies. On April 5, the SMFD will hold a Disaster Assistance Response Training (DART) course which is open to the public. For information, contact the SMFD at (310) 458-2221.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 20, 2003. Read the original PDF.