Connect with us

Pennsylvania

Officials say urban search and rescue task force for Pittsburgh area badly needed

Published

on

Officials say urban search and rescue task force for Pittsburgh area badly needed


After Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed into a ravine one snowy morning in 2022, it took hours before authorities could confirm that no one had been killed or trapped beneath the rubble.

Pennsylvania’s only urban search and rescue team with dogs trained to locate victims of structural collapses is based in Philadelphia, about five hours from Pittsburgh.

Members of Pennsylvania Task Force 1 arrived in Pittsburgh and ultimately helped local first responders determine there had been no one under the bridge when it fell, but the episode highlighted a need for greater urban search and rescue capabilities in the state’s western half.

“It was really our wake up call to say, hey, we need to be prepared,” state Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Allegheny, said Tuesday in a joint hearing of the state House and Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committees.

Advertisement

Bipartisan legislation introduced in the state House and Senate would provide funding for a second urban search rescue task force for the Pittsburgh area, which emergency officials said is badly needed.

Pittsburgh Assistant Fire Chief Brian Kokkila said that while a Pittsburgh-area urban search and rescue strike team was established after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the team has not received financial support to keep it sustainable.

“Without a dedicated line item budget this initiative brings, we will be unfunded, unsupported, unstaffed and unprepared,” Kokkila said, noting that the burden of maintaining staff for the strike team falls to local governments.

“This is clearly a commonwealth issue that requires dedicated funding and demands devoted support for the responders who are prepared to meet these challenges,” Kokkila said.

Born in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Pennsylvania Task Force 1 is one of 28 federally-funded urban search and rescue teams across the country, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield said.

Advertisement

The teams provide an organized system of resources to locate, extricate and provide medical treatment to victims of disasters such as building collapses, flooding or terrorist attacks. Task Force 1, which is a unit within the Philadelphia Fire Department, can be deployed anywhere in the country or within Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania receives about $26.5 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the task force and seven other regional counter terrorism task force groups that respond to disasters only within the state, Padfield said.

Padfield said the regional teams, which are made up of local fire and rescue agencies, are able to provide a more nimble, scaled response to the types of threats that are most likely to be encountered in Pennsylvania.

He said he questions whether the legislation to create another urban search and rescue task force is the correct approach.

“I’m not saying that we shouldn’t fund the western side of the state,” Padfield said. “What I’m saying is we should find the system in totality, to be able to make sure that those resources are available to every resident in the commonwealth within a timely manner.”

Advertisement

Philadelphia Fire Capt. Ken Pagurek, program manager for Pennsylvania Task Force 1, said Task Force 1 routinely responds to incidents in southeast Pennsylvania such as the gas explosion at a Berks County chocolate factory that killed seven people in March and the flash flooding this month in Bucks County, where six people died.

Without equal funding for urban search and rescue resources across the state, Pagurek said there could be a perception that lives in some areas are worth less when people die due to a lack of rescue capability.

“If it was a perfect world, the checkbook was open, I would fund the entire program so that it was one unified system within the commonwealth,” Pagurek said.

The bills must be voted out of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committees before being considered in their respective chambers.

Read the story on the Pennsylvania Capital-Star website.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania representative on campus protests – KYMA

Published

on

Pennsylvania representative on campus protests – KYMA


(CBS, KYMA/KECY) – Pennsylvania Representative Summer Lee spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation on Sunday about the protests at college campuses around the country.

“To be honest, we don’t” Lee said when asked whether she sees excitement among college-age pro-Palestinian protesters about voting for Joe Biden. “The number one goal for them right now…is that they want to see a ceasefire in Gaza.”

When asked if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the protests on U.S. college campuses, Lee said, “This idea that every criticism of Israel is antisemitic is dangerous. There is fair critique we must make of every government, of every war, of every appropriation.”

Earlier in the interview, Brennan and Lee talked about Governor Josh Shapiro’s comments when appeared on Face the Nation last week, saying if President Biden’s pause on natural gas permits goes on for a long time, it’ll cost Pennsylvania jobs, and whether Lee’s concerned about it.

Advertisement

“I think that there’s a lot to be concerned about. I think that when we look at these polls, you know, we’ll pull out one issue at a time. But the reality is, is that there are a number of issues mixed together that make voters feel confident, that make voters, some other voters, feel hopeless, or feel like maybe there’s a little reason to participate. And I think that we’re dealing with that a lot, right? When we talk to voters throughout my election, we talked to a lot of voters who, whether it’s the economy, the price of you know, goods, gas, food, things of that nature, or abortion, like all of these different issues made voters feel like there was very little options that they had, and that they didn’t want to participate. And we have to figure out something very quickly to address that.”

Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA)

To watch more of Brennan’s interview with Lee, click here.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Pennsylvania

Reporter’s Notebook: Trump and Biden duke it out in Pennsylvania – Washington Examiner

Published

on

Reporter’s Notebook: Trump and Biden duke it out in Pennsylvania – Washington Examiner


Washington Examiner National Political Correspondent Mabinty Quarshie joins Magazine Executive Editor Jim Antle to discuss Pennsylvania‘s impact on the electoral vote in 2024, former President Donald Trump‘s problems with suburban voters in the state, and President Joe Biden‘s efforts to court former Republican candidate Nikki Haley’s supporters.



Source link

Continue Reading

Pennsylvania

Pro-Palestinian protesters remain on University of Pennsylvania's campus despite warnings to disband

Published

on

Pro-Palestinian protesters remain on University of Pennsylvania's campus despite warnings to disband


PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — It’s been more than 24 hours since the University of Pennsylvania called for a group of pro-Palestinian protestors to pack up and leave campus.

The encampment includes both students and outside demonstrators. Organizers say they aren’t going anywhere.

“We have three demands and we will not be leaving until those demands are met,” explained Emma Herndon, a student organizer of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment.

On Thursday, a rally at City Hall led the group to the University of Pennsylvania campus where they set up camp.

Advertisement

“Our demands are to disclose the university endowment, to divest from Israeli, and defend voices of pro-Palestine voices on campus,” explained Herndon.

On Friday, Penn’s interim president called for the group to disband.

“Failure to disband the encampment immediately and to adhere to Penn’s policies will result in sanctions consistent with our due process procedures as they apply to students, faculty, and staff,” expressed Interim President J. Larry Jameson in a letter to the community.

WATCH | Penn’s interim president warns pro-Palestinian protesters to disband encampment immediately

Penn’s interim president warns pro-Palestinian protesters to disband encampment immediately

Advertisement

“As students and as members of the Philadelphia community we have rights to protest and take a space on this campus,” said Herndon.

The letter, however, mentions credible reports of harassment and intimidation, which have been documented.

It goes on to mention the encampment itself violates the university’s facilities policies and certain actions by some protestors violate Penn’s open expression guidelines as well as state and federal law.

“I support the right for people to protest always as they should have. I think it brings in a lot of outsider antagonists,” explained one Penn student to Action News.

Students want campus life to return to what it was, while university officials say maintaining a safe inclusive campus is a priority.

Advertisement

“The general feeling on campus is obviously we want no violence but somehow they’re gonna have to move,” a student said.

Meanwhile, Jewish students from neighboring schools are concerned.

“If you’re going to make intense claims you have to stand behind it. I’m letting them see me. It’s making a lot of bold claims with a lot of fear goals rather than trying to spread a message of hope for something better,” said Daniel Nahamo, a Drexel student.

A ‘Say No to Hate’ rally is planned for Sunday in support of the Jewish community.

Read the full letter sent to the Penn community on Friday:

Advertisement

“To the Penn community,

At Penn, we pursue our academic mission guided by fundamental commitments to upholding freedom of inquiry and open expression, while maintaining a safe, inclusive, and respectful campus community.

Over the last 24 hours, we have closely monitored the protest that evolved into an encampment on College Green. We have vigilantly supported the rights of our community members to protest peacefully. Representatives from Open Expression, University Life, and faculty leadership have engaged with some of the protestors, with limited access to the broader group.

Unfortunately, blatant violations of University policies and credible reports of harassing and intimidating conduct compel us to protect the safety and security of our campus community.

The encampment itself violates the University’s facilities policies. The harassing and intimidating comments and actions by some of the protesters, which were reported and documented by many in our community, violate Penn’s open expression guidelines and state and federal law, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. All members of our community deserve to access our facilities without fear of harassment or being subjected to discriminatory comments or threats.

Advertisement

The vandalism of the statue in front of College Hall with antisemitic graffiti was especially reprehensible and will be investigated as a hate crime.

As we have repeatedly emphasized, we will uphold free speech and the productive exchange of ideas, but we will not allow any actions that harass, threaten, or intimidate others. We have also said that the safety of our community is paramount, and we will live up to our commitment.

I am deeply saddened and troubled that our many efforts to respectfully engage in discourse, support open expression, and create a community that is free of hate and inclusive for everyone have been ignored by those who choose to disrupt and intimidate.

We have notified the protestors of their legal and policy violations. Failure to disband the encampment immediately and to adhere to Penn’s policies will result in sanctions consistent with our due process procedures as they apply to students, faculty, and staff.”

Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending