SEATTLE POST, Saturday, March 29, 2003

Police, fire departments get better tools to help ward off terror

By HECTOR CASTRO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Hand-held devices to identify radiation sources, a swab kit that can reveal anthrax and a palm-sized computer with a database of 10,000 chemicals were among the gadgets for fighting terrorism that Seattle firefighters demonstrated yesterday.

"We're always looking for the best tools to do our jobs," Lt. Harold Webb said outside the department's training center at Station 14 near the Spokane Street Viaduct.

Federal grants paid for the equipment, worth $50,000, officials said. It's cutting-edge technology developed through the efforts of the Technical Support Working Group, a little-known government agency that brings together the needs of first responders, such as firefighters and police officers, with the know-how of research and development companies.

The federal agency, known as TSWG, has existed since the mid-1980s. But it kept a low profile until recently. An agency representative at yesterday's demonstration would not allow his photograph to be taken and requested anonymity.

But the country's increased awareness of potential terrorist targets on American soil has increasingly pushed the agency to the forefront of efforts to combat terrorism.

For the past three years, the agency has worked more closely with Seattle police and fire departments to get them equipment that would help them cope with terrorism. The devices unveiled yesterday are another part of that effort.

The smallest pieces of equipment were the radiation-detection cards, to be worn by police officers and firefighters daily. The cards measure how much radiation the wearer absorbs, warning that person when radiation levels are too high.

The cards cost between $3 and $5 each and can be worn for up to two years, Webb said. About 1,000 will be available to the Fire Department and 1,200 for the Police Department.

Firefighters also displayed the Radsmart, a lightweight, hand-held gamma-ray detector that Webb said can identify the material emitting the radiation. That's useful for firefighters and police officers trying to determine whether the radiation is coming from a benign medical material or a more sinister source, such plutonium.

The department picked up two of these devices, valued at just under $10,000 each, and a third, related device that is both more expensive and more sensitive.

The new equipment also includes seven Weapons of Mass Destruction Overpacks -- tough, puncture-resistant bags that can be quickly sealed to contain hazardous materials in the field.

Officials also demonstrated the Enhanced Palmtop Hazardous Material Database System, a cell phone-size device with a flip-up screen that holds a list of 10,000 toxic chemicals, six chemical warfare agents and 73 precursor chemicals. Also included is information on handling the material.

In addition, the department now has 50 swab kits that firefighters said could quickly identify biological hazards such as anthrax.

Firefighter Scott Marcus, a member of the haz-mat ream, said the department's current equipment can handle a lot of the work the new gadgets can do, but the newer items are more sensitive.

"We've got stuff now that's really pretty good," Marcus said. "But this will take the guess work out of it."

All the equipment is likely to be tested when Seattle participates in the national TOPOFF drill in mid-May. TOPOFF, short for top officials, is an exercise first developed in May 2000 to prepare senior local, state and federal officials to respond to a terrorist attack involving a weapon of mass destruction.

When the first TOPOFF drills were held, Denver faced a simulated chemical attack while in Portsmouth,N.H., it was a biological attack.

P-I reporter Hector Castro can be reached at 206-903-5396 or hectorcastro@seattlepi.com