NEPA can’t afford trailing in emergency preparedness

LOTS OF PEOPLE poke fun at Northeastern Pennsylvania for seeming to lag behind the times, particularly when it comes to the latest cultural shifts, fashions and music.

Area residents usually find these observations funny and chuckle at the joke too.

The laughter should stop, however, on matters related to public safety. This region dare not trail its U.S. peers on issues of homeland security and emergency preparedness.

Yet only a handful of people representing Luzerne County’s police, fire and emergency response groups have undergone free training at the Center for Domestic Preparedness – the federal government’s premiere spot for teaching lessons on how to cope with a mass crisis.

U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-Dimock Township, toured the center in Anniston, Ala., last week and quickly began touting its strengths, urging area responders to register for its courses on natural disaster and terrorism recovery.

The government pays for participants’ room and board while at the training center, Carney said. The government also might pick up all or part of the tab for transportation costs.

During the center’s 10 years in existence, its instructors have coached more than 1,800 Pennsylvanians on handling situations such as chemical attacks, according to Times Leader reporter Andrew Seder’s article on Monday. Plenty of people from emergency response units based in suburban Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have made the trip.

Not so for this part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. And that doesn’t make sense, considering Luzerne County’s inherent dangers: a nuclear reactor, interstate-bound trucks laden with cargo, railroad freight, floods and other natural calamities.

From his congressional bully pulpit, Carney can easily spread the word about the center’s offerings and encourage more participation. Equally important, he might be able to build relationships so that up-to-date training is widely available right here in our corner of the commonwealth.

Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke, for example, is creating a $15 million to $22 million Public Safety Training Institute. The 30-plus-acre institute would be the logical place to schedule guest instructors or provide telecommunications hook-ups, allowing area students to keep abreast of the latest homeland security guidelines.

Similarly, couldn’t Carney involve Misericordia University? The Dallas Township institution in 2004 received a half million dollars for its “Ready Campus” program – an initiative to show other college campuses how their resources can help surrounding communities during natural disasters.

It seems as if Carney, a former volunteer firefighter, would have the inclination and political clout to coordinate these and other related programs. If so, he should.