Commissioner stresses collaboration to avert disasters

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By Debra Susca

Freelance writer in Portland, CT

Whether faced with a natural or man-made disaster, the state is poised to respond quickly to any emergency and assist with subsequent recovery, said James Thomas, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS). He spoke at the recent disaster-planning and business-recovery program sponsored by CBIA’s Small Business Advisory Council.

“We [DEMHS] have four main objectives: to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from any natural or man-made disaster,” Thomas said at the event.

To assure it can do those things, the department has taken the following steps:

To prevent — DEMHS has partnered with local, state and federal authorities to share information and monitor suspicious activity, threats and potential disasters. It has set up a task force comprising local officials, state and local police, and the FBI. They share information among themselves as well as with authorities in surrounding states to ensure timely responses to prevent disasters, including terrorist activities. Thomas stressed the importance of private-sector participation as well. He noted that recent threats were thwarted because private citizens reported suspicious activity. One tip, for example, led to uncovering an illegal alien and multiple IDs the suspect created for threatening activity. “We have to engage the community even more, however,” Thomas said, “and do a better job of getting the word out.”

To protect against — DEMHS has conducted risk analyses of the state, and is distributing funding to protect first those areas found to have the highest risks for attack or disaster, namely, areas with a high volume of people or traffic, and the state’s strategic assets. “With federal funding diminishing, we have moved to risk-based funding to make sure we’re protecting the most critical areas first,” said Thomas.

To respond — The department has set up local and regional teams to respond to natural disasters and terrorist attacks, including establishing five regional bomb squads. Funding has also been earmarked to train first responders and others — police, fire and EMS personnel, and volunteers — “people who we rely on to exercise our emergency plans,” says Thomas.

To recover — DEMHS has created statewide emergency plans. The plans include means of communicating with residents in case of an emergency, and how and to what areas power will be restored first to protect key assets, including hospitals, nursing homes and special-needs areas. Emergency evacuation plans will be distributed to residents, outlining what to do and where to go in case of an emergency. The department also works with and offers funded training to emergency management directors in each town, and helps businesses conduct emergency-preparedness and recovery assessments.

Thomas encourages all business owners to have a disaster plan in place that answers the question of what they need to keep their business running under different scenarios, considering which employees, customers and vendors are most critical to their survival.

“All this planning will make a difference,” said Thomas, pointing out that terrorists are going to try to disrupt the country through the economy. “We at DEMHS want to be a resource to you. We want to prevent emergencies and disasters. We need to go behind the scene [and] gather information. And we all need to share information. It will pay dividends.”