|
For Immediate
Release
12/18/07
Contact:
Brian Grove
(717) 787-7428
Senate Passes Baker
Legislation to Secure Emergency Responder Status for Local
Emergency Coordinators
HARRISBURG – Local Emergency
Coordinators would receive emergency responder status,
enabling them to do their job more efficiently and safely,
under a bill approved recently by the Senate.
Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne), who chairs
the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee,
sponsored the legislation after she was contacted by a local
emergency coordinator from a small municipality in Wyoming
County. He experienced difficulty traveling to many
emergencies and disasters because he could not use outward
markings on his personal vehicle to identify himself.
“Local Emergency Coordinators play a
key role in assisting municipal officials and county
emergency management coordinators in responding to natural
disasters and emergencies,” Baker said. “However, because
they are not currently designated as emergency responders,
they cannot use auditory or visual vehicle warning signals.
This is a safety hazard for the coordinators as well as to
other drivers whom they encounter enroute to the emergency
or disaster location.”
She said SB 1121 will give local
emergency coordinators legal authority to use “visual and
audible signals” provided to other emergency vehicles –
including county emergency Coordinators who already have
received this designation.
Current state law requires all 2,566 of
Pennsylvania’s municipalities to have local emergency
coordinators who are confirmed by gubernatorial appointment.
Baker said providing Local Emergency Coordinators with
emergency responder status will enable them to respond more
effectively to emergencies and improve public safety.
“No longer is emergency management seen
to be a distant responsibility that is relegated to
professional police, fire, and emergency service
departments,” Baker said. “Americans now recognize that
first responders are just that – those who respond first to
manmade or natural disasters seeking to bring order to what
are otherwise chaotic scenes. Particularly in rural
Pennsylvania, during the onset of local emergencies and
disasters, our local emergency coordinators often travel
onsite acting as the initial eyes and ears as requested by
municipal officials, county emergency management
coordinator, or state officials.
Baker’s district includes all of Pike,
Wayne, and Wyoming counties and parts of Luzerne, Monroe and
Susquehanna counties.
Additional Information:
Improving Emergency
Preparedness
 Print this page
E-mail
this page
Back |
