Agroterrorism: A Guide for First Responders

Introduction

A s I teach emergency management courses around the country , I tell first responders and other local government officials —no matter what they have heard before—that if a terrorist strikes their community, the responsibility to respond and manage the incident rests first and foremost on their shoulders.1 The responsibility begins with the appearance of a potential threat and continues until the recovery of costs is completed and the community is returned to some degree of normalcy. This intimidating responsibility cannot be abdicated when the federal government makes its response. The bottom line is that local communities—not the federal government— have the responsibility and the obligation to respond to the needs of the citizens in an emergency. This is not an easy or enviable task. In many cases, the communities least well prepared to deal with the needs of terrorism incidents are the rural communities that provide something the larger and perhaps more capable jurisdictions need: food and crops. Rural communities often lack the personnel and expertise that larger jurisdictions have. Many rural areas are served by volunteer emergency responders who work at other jobs and assist in emergencies when available . Additionally, a community’s emergency preparedness leadership and focus may change as often as elected officials change. Because of these circumstances, the continuity of service is often inconsistent. This is not to say that volunteer emergency response organizations are a poor choice for a community, but volunteer forces do face some inherent challenges . While many volunteer departments are diligent and encourage their members to receive training, others do not. For those who seek training, much of available training for first responders is delivered during the week, when volunteers cannot attend.2 For many of the essential training courses, these dedicated people must take vacation time to participate. Moreover, our nation’s rural communities may have to make do with used emergency equipment that has been purchased from or donated by wealthier communities upgrading to more current technology; often the used equipment is out of date. In many instances where mutual aid assisintroduction tance is needed from neighboring communities, the amount of resources is limited, and the time it takes for the mutual aid to arrive is lengthy. Certainly , our nation’s rural communities are not afforded the same benefits in terms of the number of personnel and kinds of technology that larger communities enjoy. Yet rural communities persevere and continue to produce amid hardship . These communities watch as farmland decreases and urban sprawl increases. Young people continue to move away from these areas in search of “greener pastures.” Governmental regulations—like those that limit the amount of dust that can be stirred up, even in farming communities —can cost farming operations greatly.3 The goal of this book is to provide rural communities with information they can use in preparation for the next agroterrorism attack. x introduction ...