Dr. Rashid Jooma, the Minister of General Health of Pakistan, knows all too well what terrorism can do to a nation. He was among a number of international experts on terrorism response that spoke today about their first-hand experiences and what their nations have learned to improve their local emergency preparedness efforts. A packed room of more than 300 attended the conference that featured speakers from Israel, Spain, India, Pakistan, London and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
«All cities are vulnerable to natural disasters, chemical and biological weapons, terrorism, and any number of other situations,» Boston EMS Chief Rich Serino said. «The international speakers gathered here today have an unparalleled wealth of experience that we can learn from. None of us can fight terrorism alone; we can’t prepare for it alone; and we can’t prevent it alone. This is one more step in strengthening our emergency preparedness and response capabilities.»
The conference was sponsored by Boston EMS’ DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness and included individual presentations and then discussions on multiple topics. Though each speaker had a different experience with terrorist acts, their overall messages were in sync: prepare your agency, prepare with others, and never stop preparing.
«We’re in the middle of a war on terrorism,» Dr. Jooma, of Pakistan, said during his presentation. Dr. Jooma, a neurosurgeon, said it was essential that major cities across the world prepared themselves for terrorism, whether or not their city has a known threat. Terrorists are using homemade materials, and they’re becoming more accessible, he said. «The most important thing is to train, train, train.»
Dr. Aparna Deshpande, of the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India, spoke of the July 2006 terrorist attack in which terrorists caused 7 bomb blasts on a major train line (209 killed, 714 injured). Her hospital was closest to the attacks and the Emergency Department was quickly overwhelmed.
Simon Lewis, Chief Superintendent and Head of Emergency Preparedness of the New Scotland Yard, spoke about the July 2005 London train and bus bombings (52 killed, 700 injured). Immediately after the attacks, an alternative mortuary was set up on a cricket field. His department has already established multiple sites throughout London available to them in an emergency.
«It is important to get experts of this caliber together in one place so that agencies can learn from them and each other,» Director of the DelValle Institute Brad Cohen said. «The information shared today will help us better train first responders, doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers, not only in Greater Boston, but throughout Massachusetts and New England. By learning together, agencies are better able to respond together successfully. We will continue to share knowledge with our partner agencies.»
Since 2003, the DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness at Boston EMS has trained more than 12,000 Boston area first responders, doctors and nurses to prepare for natural and intentional disasters. The Institute is named in honor of Manuel DelValle, Jr., a firefighter with Engine 5 for the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), who was killed while responding to the September 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The Institute has been convening similar conferences for 6 years. The Institute is funded by the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Preparedness and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
