NWEPC works to ensure smooth responses
By Erik Radvon JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

Rutland welcomed representatives from 12 towns on May 28 for a meeting of the North Worcester County Emergency Planning Committee.

The NWEPC was organized two years ago in response to cries from the federal government, which post-9/11 has been calling for cities and towns across the country to regionalize their emergency response resources.

"We want to be prepared in the event of an emergency," said Battalion Chief Robert Salo, of the Ashburnham Fire Department. "We don't want an emergency but we want to be prepared."

Salo said the state requires a town to either operate it's own emergency response committee or to work as part of the regional one.

Frank McManmon, Western and Central Mass's local coordinator with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said the 15 member towns in Worcester County had done an "excellent job" collaborating.

"It's not that spread out," Salo said.

The towns include Ashburnham, Athol, Barre, Gardner, Hardwick, Hubbardston, New Braintree, Oakham, Paxton, Petersham, Philliston, Royalston, Rutland, Templeton and Winchendon.

"Seeing the turnout of 12 towns here today is very encouraging," McManmon said. "Worcester County has made tremendous strides in this effort, and we're in excellent shape here."

In February, the NWEPC received its full certification from the State Emergency Response Commission, the highest level attainable. The member towns earned the high rating by meeting a series of criteria, the centerpiece of which was a full-scale emergency exercise held last fall. The certification lands the NWEPC in the highest standings until 2011, a move that could help the region attract more Homeland Security money from Washington.

"The federal government is more likely to consider spending their money in an area that has some level of organization in place. They look at it as getting more bang for their buck," McManmon said.

With certification in hand, the group is looking to projects on the horizon, including contributing to a massive database that aims to list all the emergency equipment statewide.

Rutland Fire Chief Thomas Ruchala had nothing but praise for the regional partnership.

"This is good for all the towns involved," he said. "In the case of a largescale emergency, it's so much better for all of us to be on the same page rather than doing 15 different things."

Emergencies include the possibility of the evacuations, hazardous material clean up and other such events.

"We can figure out where all our resources are. We can see where the resources are going to come from, and who we are going to call," Salo said.

The NWEPC is tentatively set to meet again in Gardner this fall.