Editorial: Training, equipment key to anti-terrorism

Friday, Nov. 2, 2001 | 8:51 a.m.

Last week Tom Ridge, the nation's domestic security director, promised that state and local governments would be given about $550 million in federal grants for terrorism preparedness. Nevada is expected to receive a little less than $5 million.

Local and state governments, which are the primary responders in the event of terrorism, definitely need more money for preparedness in the wake of Sept. 11. If a bomb explodes or a plane crashes, it will be local firefighters, police officers, paramedics and doctors who will be first on the scene, not federal officials.

More money is welcome, but it alone won't be sufficient. The funding must be spent wisely. The state of Nevada should spend it on increased training for public safety and medical professionals, more protective gear for safety officials and additional monitoring equipment that could detect the presence of biological or chemical agents. The chances are slim that we'll know in advance when, and in what form, a terrorist attack will occur. But that should in no way minimize the need for proper training to be prepared for the most likely types of attacks, and even training for those that now seem unimaginable.