State Senator Mary Ann Handley
January 11, 2008
Handley, Stillman to Hold Forum to Gauge State’s Emergency Preparedness
State Senators Mary Ann Handley (D-Manchester) and Andrea L. Stillman (D-Waterford), Senate Chairs of the legislature's Public Health and Public Safety and Security Committees, respectively, and their House co-chairs, Rep. Peggy Sayers (D-Windsor Locks) and Rep. Steve Dargan (D-West Haven), announced today plans for a comprehensive, day-long Emergency Preparedness Forum to be held Monday, January 28th.
The Senators said the forum will feature agencies representing traditional first responders like police, fire, and emergency medical services, and it will also expand the scope of emergency response to include such things as a release of radioactive material, an influenza pandemic, and airline passengers arriving in Connecticut with dangerous, contagious conditions.
"From a public health standpoint, we have a responsibility to ensure maximum preparedness for all eventualities, from a ruinous outbreak of a dangerous disease or infection, to an overt act of violence or terrorism that might introduce a devastating pathogen," Senator Handley said. "We want to be sure we have necessary protocol and personnel in place in case they're called upon, and everything they'll conceivably need to provide an adequate first response."
The forum will include more than a half-dozen formal presentations to committee members and the state's chief elected officials and town managers, who will be the forum's special invited guests and for whom the forum is primarily intended. There will be indoor and outdoor displays of emergency response plans, equipment, and vehicles; presentations will be made by commissioners of appropriate state agencies and some of those accountable for preparedness at the local level, the Senators said.
"One of government's primary responsibilities is to provide for public safety and a critical element of that is anticipating what might become critically important in times of crisis," Senator Stillman said. "Proper preparedness at every level of government could and would make the difference between containing an emergency situation and a calamitous disaster for Connecticut residents."
The Emergency Preparedness Forum will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, January 28th in room 2C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. The public is invited to attend and members of the press corps are encouraged to cover this event.
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