Wayne Allard: “the events of the past few months remind us of the vital role of first responders in responding to natural disasters and…”

“the events of the past few months remind us of the vital role of first responders in responding to natural disasters and terrorists attacks. First responders are just that: the first to respond. When they arrive on the scene, they often face fluid and volatile situations whereupon they are required to make split- second decisions, each of which has the potential to affect thousands of lives. For this reason, it is important that our first responders receive the training and experience needed to make critical life saving decisions under emergency circumstances. I believe that an essential element of preparing our first responders is to provide them with hands-on experience in simulated, real-world training environments. The importance of real world training was called to my attention by a visit to the Technology Training Center (TTC) in Pueblo, CO. There, I witnessed first hand the tools at our disposal to equip our first responders with the training they need, specifically in the context of rail and mass transit. Already aware of the training facilities at the disposal of our first responders through the Department of Homeland Security's National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC), TTC's potential to fill a gap in the rail and mass transit environment became apparent. Congress recognized the need to train first responders in the 1998 Appropriations Act, Public Law 105-119, and accompanying report.…”