PARSIPPANY
— Morris County today showcased
protective equipment for law enforcement
officers, firefighters and emergency medical
services (EMS) personnel purchased with
more than $1.5 million in federal funds
distributed by the state. The equipment
is designed to help the county’s
first responders better protect the public
in the event of a terrorist-related incident
or other major catastrophe.
The protective equipment was displayed
to state, county and municipal officials
at a press conference at the county’s
Firefighters and Police Training Academy,
where a class of police officers was also
being trained in the use of full-face
respirators or ‘‘gas masks.”
“The
protective equipment here today is part
of a $1.5 million investment in preparedness
gear for local first responders —
the people who will serve as Morris County’s
front line of protection in the event
of a terrorist attack or other disaster,”
said Attorney General Peter C. Harvey.
“The
equipment is here today because of the
commitment and efficiency of Morris County
officials, working in partnership with
the State to procure it,” said Harvey,
who chairs New Jersey’s Domestic
Security Preparedness Task Force, the
cabinet-level body that oversees State
homeland security policy and coordination
efforts. “Morris County is to be
commended for doing the job right and,
more importantly, for making sure that
the first responders who serve the county
are better prepared than ever to deal
effectively — and safely —
with a terrorist incident or other catastrophe.”
“First
responders are ordinary people doing extraordinary
work, serving on the front line and protecting
all of us against domestic terrorism,"
said Morris County Freeholder Douglas
R. Cabana. “As first responders,
they have the greatest capability to save
lives and reduce casualties. It is vital
that they be properly trained and equipped.”
“Morris
County’s coordinated and integrated
approach to deploying first responder
equipment makes an excellent fit with
the New Jersey State Police’s new
Homeland Security Branch,” said
Lt. Col. Lori Hennon-Bell, Deputy Superintendent
in charge of the new branch. “The
Homeland Security Branch is poised to
respond at a moment’s notice to
any incident, from a terrorist attack
to a chemical spill and, when first responders
from the county are well-equipped and
well-trained, we can rapidly dovetail
our response with theirs.”
New Jersey Office of Counter-Terrorism
Director Sidney J. Caspersen, said, “Morris
County has set a proper course to ensure
that law enforcement officers and first
responders are properly equipped to face
whatefuture threats from terrorist incidents
and other events.”
Morris County is purchasing its first
responder equipment with more than $1.5
million in funds from federal fiscal year
(FFY) 2003 grant monies provided by the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s
Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP)
and distributed to the counties by the
state according to planning decisions
made by the state’s Domestic Security
Preparedness Task Force, Attorney General
Harvey said. In addition to these funds,
the Morris County Sheriff’s Bomb
Squad is participating as one of 10 squads
statewide in a coordinated, regionalized
bomb-response program initiated by the
New Jersey Domestic Security Preparedness
Task Force and coordinated by the State
Police Bomb Squad. The Sheriff’s
Office received $278,000 in FFY 2003 ODP
funds from the state for equipment as
part of this program. Furthermore, the
Sheriff’s Office also received more
than $57,000 in FFY 2003 ODP funds to
purchase an explosives detecting dog,
part of a statewide plan to ensure that
there is at least one bomb-detecting canine
in each of the state’s counties.
In addition, the Morris County Prosecutor’s
Office received more than $170,000 in
FFY 2002 ODP funds that were used to purchase
monitoring and response equipment for
the Prosecutor’s Weapons of Mass
Destruction Assessment Team.
“The
necessity for statewide and regional approaches
to homeland security based on principles
of mutual aid cannot be stressed highly
enough,” said Harvey. In this regard,
he noted that Morris County had distributed
first responder equipment uniformly to
each of the various first-responder disciplines
in the county, including police, first
aid squads, ambulances and firefighters,
and provided uniform training in the use
of the equipment. “This uniformity
allows for ‘meaningful redundancy,’”
he said. “It allows for squads and
personnel to back each other up seamlessly.”
Harvey also noted that Morris County is
part of the six-county greater Newark
and Jersey City Urban Area Security Initiative
(UASI), which is scheduled to receive
$11.9 million from ODP in FFY 2003. This
regional program, which is being coordinated
by the state along with county and municipal
leaders from Essex, Hudson, Bergen, Union,
Passaic and Morris counties, is designed
to respond to — and prevent —
terrorist attacks in a coordinated manner
across jurisdictional lines through regional
planning efforts.
Harvey said the State’s Domestic
Security Preparedness Task Force required
that each county form a County Multi-Disciplinary
Working Group and charged the working
group with developing funding plans centered
on protecting — and responding to
potential incidents at — sites where
threats or hazards had been identified
within the county. The county working
group includes the County OEM Coordinator,
County Executive Director, County Fiscal
Officer, County Prosecutor, County Police
Chiefs Association representative, County
Fire Coordinator/Fire Marshal, County
EMS Coordinator, and the hazmat or chemical,
biological, radiological, nuclear and
explosive (CBRNE) team representative.
The Morris County Working Group chose
the equipment showcased today.
In all, New Jersey is distributing more
than $29.2 million for first responder
equipment, hazardous material response
and target hardening from FFY 2003 ODP
funds. New Jersey is also scheduled to
receive a total of $87.4 million in ODP
homeland security funding for FFY 2004.
The state is currently determining the
specific grants each county will receive
from these funds.
