Fire Departments Urged to Review Preparedness Advisory Protocols Impending War in Iraq May Raise US Terrorist Threat Level to “Severe” (Red)

Fairfax, VA – U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and FBI Director Robert Mueller were jointly quoted last week as saying that the National Terrorist Threat Assessment level “could very well be raised to ‘Severe’ (red) if a war in Iraq were to begin.”

In the likelihood that such action may be imminent, the IAFC is recommending that all fire departments review the advisory protocols for such a change in advance of any announcement that might be made by the president in the next few days.

If an increase to the threat level advisory were to be announced, it would represent the third time since the system’s implementation last year that the threat indicator has been revised — and the first time that the threat condition has been raised to its highest level. The first threat level increase was to High/Orange on Sept. 10, 2002, just before the first anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks and was in place for approximately two and a half weeks. On February 7, 2003, the level was raised again for another brief period of time, and has been posted at Elevated/Yellow since.

During every elevation of threat conditions, officials have asked that Americans continue to go about their business with a heightened awareness of their surroundings and greater consideration for personal security. “Remain aware, remain alert,” Secretary Ridge said. In addition to these recommendations, the IAFC suggests that all fire chiefs also do the following things:

1. Make contact with your law enforcement counterpart in your municipality to share information and review emergency response plans. Be prepared to brief your local elected officials and the local news media, if requested.
2. Be aware that an elevated alert level will trigger a series of security precautions by the federal government, as well as state and local governments to increase readiness to prevent terrorism, and plan accordingly.
3. Encourage all citizens in your communities to review their own families’ emergency response procedures to ensure that all family members know what to do, where to go and what their own emergency contingency plans are.

For more information on Homeland Security Advisory Levels, visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Web site atwww.dhs.gov.

For citizen protection and preparedness recommendations, visit the Red Cross Web site atwww.redcross.org.

For information on the FBI Terrorist Threat Integration Center, go towww.fbi.gov.