The Region 13 Working Group was the first in Pennsylvania to formalize regional mutual aid and inter-government agreements to respond to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) events (terrorism), chemical emergencies and other man-made and natural disasters. Its members were first on the scene when UAL Flight 93 crashed in Somerset County, PA. on Sept. 11.

Specifcally we met with Chief Robert A. Full, Denis Narey, and Dave (the person in charge of IT), and got a lengthy tour of their facilities and 911 call center by Mike Lupinacci.

 
Region 13 strives to be on the cutting edge of technology. In addition to their mission control room, they have a computer training lab and state of the art telecommunications equipment. They eagerly welcome any technological product that would help them to better address the WMD threat.

Simulations:

• Mall Strike 2001: cost $32,000 in federal funding and involved several hundred responders and about 150 victims
• They also did a training exercise in the Pittsburgh subway in 2000. Slightly smaller scale than Mall Strike 2001, and responders did not handle it well, but it was a fantastic learning experience.
• Region 13 has $50,000 in federal funding to run a training simulation this summer. The scenario will probably focus on a terrorist on a bus in one of the PAT tunnels.

"A WMD attack on a mall is in our top 3 concerns. The collateral damage would be huge. A shopping mall attack is an even larger concern than an attack on a stadium."

"We are tickled pink to partner with your university."

"This sounds like a great initiative. This is something we would like to have at our disposal."