Maine agencies prepare for more terrorist threats Surveillance heightened across state

WASHINGTON – Both here and in Augusta, state and federal law enforcement officials and emergency personnel are working to improve evacuation and emergency preparedness plans for the possibility of more terrorist attacks.

“We are as prepared as we reasonably could be, [though] nothing operates in a fail-safe manner,” said Maj. Gen. Joe Tinkham, adjutant general of the Maine Army and Air National Guard, in regards to the state’s ability to respond to a terrorist threat. For the past two years, a state counterterrorism task force, organized under the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), has been training to detect terrorist threats in the air, on the coast, along the border of Canada and within the state.

Since the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., security has been increased and surveillance heightened in Maine. Currently, MEMA has up to 3,600 Army and Air National Guard personnel available to call to duty, said Tinkham.

Working in conjunction with law enforcement agencies throughout the state, the task force has agents specialized in isolating and handling chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction.

“Everything is on the table right now,” said Tinkham of the kind of terrorist activity the task force is preparing for.

Despite a belief among many Maine residents that the state’s rural location makes it safe from any sort of terrorist threat, Tinkham cautioned that residents can’t become complacent because “as targets harden elsewhere, rural areas may become at risk.”

After two jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center twin towers and another into the Pentagon last week, MEMA gathered its Emergency Response Team (ERT) to assess the terrorist situation, Tinkham said. The ERT, comprised of key state department personnel, met in the designated Emergency Operations Center, where the governor determined the landmark most at risk to a terrorist threat was the State House building complex and ordered its evacuation, he said.

Gov. King’s personal evacuation plans have not been altered since last week’s acts of terrorism, as the staff is confident in the abilities of the executive protection unit that guards the governor, said John Ripley, a spokesperson for the governor.

With terrorism hitting on home soil, officials may need to exercise “a new era of caution,” said Ripley, but there are no immediate plans to re-evaluate or redesign the governor’s evacuation plans.

The governor’s office wouldn’t comment on the details of last week’s evacuation procedure, but Tinkham said he believed “a lot of lessons were learned” about how evacuations from the State House should be handled more effectively in the future.

‘Chaos’ on Capitol Hill

Last week’s U.S. Capitol evacuation was filled with confusion and miscommunication, according to several Capitol Hill staff members.

“Things were a little more helter-skelter than [in previous drills],” said Felicia Knight, a spokesperson for Sen. Susan Collins. “[The evacuation] was frightening and confusing, but there wasn’t panic. Everyone kept their head and remained orderly – it was almost like organized chaos,” she said.

During last week’s evacuation, there was no single means of notification for the evacuation. Some alarms sounded throughout the office buildings as a notification to evacuate, some members were told personally to evacuate by Capitol Police officers, while others made the determination to leave the building on their own.

The fast breaking pace of the day’s events contributed to the confusion and a breakdown of communication during the evacuation, said Lt. Dan Nichols, spokesman for the Capitol Police.

“It was the first time in the 200 year history of this complex that we have had an evacuation of all 19 of our buildings at one time,” Nichols said. “So, it was certainly an unprecedented situation that we were facing. … It would be to our benefit, certainly the benefit of the Congressional community, if we can provide better information on the situation at hand.”

That Tuesday, a Capitol Police officer knocked on Collins’ door in the Russell Senate Office building and told the office manager to evacuate the staff. In previous drills, all staff members had been sitting in the office at their desks, which was a sharp contrast to the actual situation during the evacuation last week, said Knight. On Sept. 11, staff members were scattered throughout the Capitol in meetings, which contributed to the difficulty of accounting for personnel, she said.

Upon learning of the attacks on the World Trade Center through television coverage, Rep. John Baldacci gathered his staff in his office because he said he felt it was important they all be together. A plain-clothed man instructed the congressman’s office to evacuate, but upon calling the Capitol Police, Baldacci’s office was told “that was not the case at that point,” recalled Baldacci.

“I made the decision to evacuate the building,” Baldacci said, after watching the attack on the Pentagon. “Our evacuation went pretty well. We were prepared.”

Baldacci said his office is working on having staff pagers reconditioned to prevent a repeat of last week’s situation where all lines of communication were down once everyone exited the building.

Despite the miscommunication between the police and congressional members, “I am confident in our safety, in the precautions taking place, and I hope that communication can improve to make the system even better,” Baldacci said.

Currently, heightened security measures are in place at the Capitol and members and staff are being asked to show identification upon entering the buildings and are encouraged to wear their member pins. The underneath of cars entering the building’s underground parking garage are searched with mirrors. And access for the public has been severely curtailed – only small group tours with escorts are being admitted to the Capitol.

This week the U.S. Capitol Police and the House Administration Committee held briefings outlining a new interim evacuation plan calling for additional security measures. The police said they would use public address systems and bullhorns to communicate with assembled members outside the Capitol to pass along necessary information, along with pagers to notify members of any emergency situations inside or outside of the building.

The Capitol Police are asking members to review the interim evacuation plan and provide feedback with any additional suggestions to improve the new plan.