First responders talk terrorism, other issues in state
JACKSON, Tenn. — Hundreds of firefighters, emergency personnel, law enforcement and health officials join together for two days to talk about current threats to the public and ways they can help. The Tennessee Emergency Preparedness Summit gets first responders ready for what they could face. “We have representation here from all over the state of Tennessee,” TEPS representative Wayne Arnold said. As hundreds gather, they’re able to listen to experts on a variety of topics and also network with one another. Officials said each year they talk about topics most relevant to society. This year, one of those topics included terrorism, but they said it’s not necessarily a new topic on their mind. “That actually hit home on 9/11. After Sept. 11, that became the topic for all law enforcement, Homeland Security, and EMA people. That became a priority,” Lt. Brad Wilbanks with the Tennessee Highway Patrol said. FBI officials talked about who terrorists are, what groups are out there and where these groups have the greatest presence. One of those places is on social media. “With the Internet and so many means of communication, especially young people can be radicalized,” Lt. Wilbanks said. “It’s important to pass the word on to adults, parents and families.” As emergency officials look at threats to the community, both local and international, they train to be on the front lines of public safety. “We spend a lot of time preparing for things we hope will never happen, and that’s what we’re doing here is talking about the hot topics,” Lt. Wilbanks said. Child safety, meth use in Tennessee and new programs starting this year in the state are also topics of conversation at the summit. The conference wraps up Thursday afternoon.
