Officials reflect on Sept. 11 changes
COEUR d'ALENE - American travelers now accept that they will shuffle, shoeless through airport scanners, and that they may be subjected to more intrusive security screenings if they want to board a plane.
Emptying pockets and dumping car keys and cell phones into plastic trays before going into a courthouse has become the norm.
Osama Bin Laden is dead.
Many things have changed in the dozen years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on American soil.
One of the most significant changes is the way communication is handled during emergencies and disasters.
"Things are much more consolidated among all the federal, state and local agencies since then," said Doug Fredericks, Kootenai County Office of Emergency Management's resource and preparedness specialist.
Fredericks credits the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security, developed as a direct result of 9/11.
"One of the biggest tactical directives that came out of that is what's called 'interoperable communications,'" Fredericks said.
The terrorist attacks put a spotlight on serious flaws in emergency response communications, he said. People in different parts of New York City were unable to coordinate their response efforts because there was no continuity between the different agencies.
"Homeland Security focused a huge effort into communities like ours to improve interoperable communication," Fredericks said.
A major collaborative accomplishment funded through the Homeland Security Grant Program is a new countywide 700 megahertz communications system. Every hospital in North Idaho, and every single ambulance in the region, is now able to communicate.
The Incident Command System concept, an integrated emergency management system, is now in place in Kootenai County.
"This evolved from the wildfire fighting community," Fredericks said.
The system provides for different lines of authority with sections of specialty including finance, logistics and public information, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities during an emergency.
Fredericks said it's "common core" teaching that makes it possible for agencies in different parts of the state easily step in and help each other.
"A fire division out of Kellogg can come and just fit like a hand in a glove in Coeur d'Alene," Fredericks said.
Laura Rumpler, the Coeur d'Alene School District's Public Information Officer, has served in that role in multiple jurisdictions including Bend, Ore. and Spokane County.
Since the terrorist attacks 12 years ago, Rumpler said it's become more important than ever to provide instant, accurate information to the public during a crisis.
"Our society demands it. They're looking for that expert information to be delivered as quickly as possible," Rumpler said.
Technology advances and social media have compounded the situation, she said, making it easier for citizens to pass along information, so it's important to provide "very clear and authentic" information about what's happening and where people can go for help or to be safe.
"It still comes down to the power of the people coming together in those situations to be helpful to each other," Rumpler said. "For us, it's about connecting those people."
Fredericks said "personal preparedness" is also important.
"We like to say that every person who is prepared to face a disaster through advance planning and effort is one less person that emergency responders will have to take care of, and this allows them to perform their primary job on the frontline of the disaster," he said.
Resources for personal emergency preparedness:
kcgov.us/departments/disaster
www.ready.gov