Emergency planners reconsider preparation levels

ST. LOUIS -- When it comes to emergency management, officials in this region say they're probably as prepared as anyone else.

"Whether that is enough is open to discussion," said Beaufort C. "Buck" Katt, deputy director of Missouri's State Emergency Management Agency.

Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, emergency planners are reconsidering their roles in more extreme scenarios than they previously imagined.

One terrorism drill in Forest Park about two years ago involved a 6-inch canister spewing imaginary toxic gas. About 75 high school student volunteers spilled into the Muny theater's parking lot, where emergency workers tested their ability to respond.

Considering the recent incidents, officials said they're considering plans for more severe possibilities.

"I think everybody is going to reassess. They'd be foolish if they don't," Battalion Chief Dennis Jenkerson, one of the St. Louis Fire Department's disaster preparedness planners told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.