EDITORIAL: Local rescue workers deserve support EDITORIAL: Local rescue workers deserve support (September 29, 2004)

If members of Congress and the Department of Homeland Security are really serious about doing all they can to support the country's ability to respond to terrorist attacks or other disasters, they should send out the word to approve a $30 million bill pending in a House-Senate conference committee.

Local firefighters and other members of Task Force 3, the urban search and rescue unit sponsored by the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, are eagerly awaiting news from the committee that they hope will continue to provide full funding for their operation next fiscal year.

The task force, which has rushed teams to disasters such as the Oklahoma City bombing and the September 11 terrorist attack in New York City, is dependent on about $1 million in federal funding to cover training and expenses when members are deployed. But officials at FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, fear that the committee may adopt a funding package being considered by the House, which would cut all task force funding from $30 million to $7 million.

Such a drastic cut would play havoc with the local group, according to fire district Division Chief Harold Schapelhouman, who heads Task Force 3. The Senate bill backs FEMA's request for $30 million, enough to give each task force about $1.2 million for the year's operations. That is adequate, Mr. Schapelhouman told the Almanac, adding that he would have to mothball equipment and stop training for the 210 members of the task force if Congress approved only $7 million for all 28 units.

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, D-Atherton, has already asked her colleagues to approve the more generous funding package, and more lobbying is expected before the bill is reported out.

Ever since the Midpeninsula became aware of the dedication and commitment of Task Force 3, residents were proud to see their own firefighters helping out in the major crises that have confronted the country in the last 10 years.

Task force members are ready to drop everything and fly off at a moment's notice to provide backup for local firefighters, as they did after September 11, or help with rescue efforts, as they did in the recent Florida hurricanes. This is a group of highly committed emergency workers who will always be there when called upon.

The Menlo Park Fire Protection District, which covers Menlo Park, Atherton, East Palo Alto and parts of unincorporated San Mateo County, also plays a role by picking up Task Force expenses until FEMA can reimburse them, sometimes a year later. The district will continue to pay a task force member, even though they may be deployed out of the state on a disaster call.

It would be a shame if our congressional leaders fail to recognize that these unique disaster teams are a critical part of our nation's defense against terrorism and natural disasters. We hope the conference committee will do the right thing and approve full funding for these teams, as requested by FEMA.

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