Nevada's emergency management chief

As horrific as the terrorist attacks of 9-11 were, Frank Siracusa says they raised public awareness and support for emergency planning to a level not seen since the height of the Cold War.

Siracusa, head of Nevada's Division of Emergency Management, ought to know. With 30 years in the business, he's one of the nation's most veteran emergency management directors with experience handling everything from hurricanes and floods to forest fires and hazardous material spills.

"I've been doing this since the guys wearing white civil defense helmets with their flashlights pointed at the sky," he said.

Siracusa, 54, has headed Nevada's emergency management system for 13 years. Before that, he was working for a county government in New Jersey. In 1974, to save a few bucks, the county manager asked him to take on civil defense as an extra duty.

"Four months later there was a hurricane and the job was full time," he said. "I've been doing it ever since."

He said people and governments have generally ignored emergency management when things were quiet. As a result, emergency needs were often the first victims of budget cuts.

All that changed two years ago when terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center.

"This agency's budget was $2 million a year," he said. "Now I'm managing a $50 million budget."

The job, however, hasn't changed.

"Most everything we're doing now has been done for years," he said. "Now there's a lot more emphasis on it but the truth is, it never mattered to us whether a fire or a hazmat spill was caused by an accident or terrorist attack. We have to deal with it no matter what caused it."

"Our biggest thing is to ensure the state of Nevada is prepared as best can be to respond to and recover from any event."

Despite 9-11, he said the emergencies Nevada is most likely to face haven't changed either.

"Osama Bin Laden isn't likely to come into this state," he said. "It's more likely going to be some whacko who doesn't something. Most of what we have to prepare for is the wildfires, the floods, hazmat spills."

Beyond the money, he said the biggest change since 9/11 is the willingness of all concerned to work out problems which have existed for decades. He said agencies, governments, first responders, volunteer groups and private companies who for years refused to trade information and work together are now doing so enthusiastically. Getting them to do so is the core of Siracusa's job.

"This is the agency that coordinates all of the state's assets on behalf of the governor during an emergency," he said.

Siracusa said his biggest asset has been the support of Gov. Kenny Guinn, who has pushed those different agencies to the table and given him authority to get things done.

He said in the past two years, his office has awarded millions in grants -- mostly to local agencies -- for equipment and training. He said a new state emergency operations center is on the drawing board and the highway patrol is getting mobile operations centers that can be used where and whenever there is a problem. He said radio systems are being modernized so that everyone involved in an emergency can communicate and a new drug, chemical and biological laboratory will soon be built in Las Vegas.

He said probably most important is the cooperation between various local, state, federal and military agencies.

"We've broken down a lot of the barriers."

Now all those agencies are working together in regular meetings to improve cooperation and develop detailed strategic plans for handling any type of emergency.

"All events start at the local level," he said. "They're the first one's to respond."

He said he and his 22 member staff don't grab hazmat suits and fire hoses to help.

"We bring together the resources they need to do the job."

He said a good example is the recent flash floods in Las Vegas. Less than 18 hours after Mayor Oscar Goodman asked for assistance, he said they had damage assessment teams on the streets in Las Vegas.

"A lot of things are being done to protect our citizens, a lot behind the scenes, but the public needs to know that it's being done," he said. "We're much better prepared now than we were two years ago.