The fire service for 20-plus years has utilized a unified command system, |
They pulled those (departments) with specialty teams, ... Chicago was sent, because they had personnel trained confined space and trench rescues. We were put on standby and were ready to respond that night but they told us at the last minute they didn't need us. |
We can roll up on what could be the most mundane situation and now we look at it and say, 'Could it be something else?' It's a matter of going down the street and looking at things like why is this vehicle here and should it be here? The whole thought process has been modified. |
We're better-trained, better-equipped and more aware, |
We're training in areas we never thought we'd have to deal with, ... Before we'd train to decontaminate one of our own if they went into a hot zone. Now we're trained in how to decontaminate a mass number of people who could be sprayed with a chemical or biological agent. |