August 25, 2005

Indiana Department of Homeland Security and Purdue to hold Homeland Security drill Aug. 30

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Indiana's Department of Homeland Security in partnership with Purdue University's Homeland Security Institute will conduct a District 4 Emergency Preparedness tabletop drill from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, at the Caterpillar Inc. facility, 3701 Indiana 26 East in Lafayette.

"This is a good example of the teamwork needed to prepare our local jurisdictions for a terrorism response scenario," said Eric Dietz, director for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. "The partnership developed by the Purdue Homeland Security Institute between the counties within Homeland Security District 4 and Purdue have made this exercise possible. Indiana DHS needs to seek other partnerships in the state to further prepare us for such response and recovery."

First responders and emergency management officials from nine counties will gather to test their preparedness in case of a major homeland security threat in District 4's area of responsibility. The counties in District 4 include Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren and White. Emergency management, fire, police, health, hospital, public works and press will participate in the drill. If a disaster were to take place, it could possibly involve hundreds of first responders on local, state and national levels. Purdue's Homeland Security Institute is the first in Indiana to involve a large network of counties in planning for potential large-scale emergencies.

Purdue first responders, including the police and fire departments, will direct the drill.

One of the goals of the drill is to obtain certification in the National Incident Management System, a system developed by the federal government that requires all emergency management personnel in the country to respond to an emergency in a prescribed fashion. First responders and others at the drill will learn the correct protocol to use in the event of a large-scale disaster.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Source: Chris Klinker, operational assessment manager of the Purdue Homeland Security Institute, (765) 209-0149, cklinker@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: Members of the media are invited to attend and/or participate in the Homeland Security Institute's tabletop drill. If interested, call Chris Klinker, operational assessment manager of the Purdue Homeland Security Institute, in advance at (765) 209-0149, cklinker@purdue.edu.

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