When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon a year ago, the first people on the scene were firefighters, police officers and paramedics. Three-hundred-fifty New York City firefighters and 70 police officers died at Ground Zero. After Sept. 11, many first responders said they needed better equipment, training and communications to respond to terrorist attacks. The Minnesota Legislature appropriated $13 million for equipment and training, and national leaders pledged to provide federal anti-terrorism money. But one year later, no money has gone out to first responders in Minnesota, and not everyone agrees on how the money should be spent.

	Kent Griffith, medical direction coordinator for Regions Hospital EMS shows the radio control center that coordinates ambulances, hospitals and patients. Sitting is Tom Kneissel, MRCC operator. (MPR Photo/Laura McCallum)

On a recent afternoon, a 911 call alerts paramedics in St. Paul that a woman has suffered a seizure in her apartment. Minutes later, St. Paul fire captain Greg Erickson and his team arrive on the scene. Erickson decides to take the woman to a nearby hospital. First, he calls the east metro MRCC, a radio control center that coordinates ambulances, hospitals and patients.

Erickson says without a dispatch system like this, first responders wouldn't know where to take the hundreds or thousands of people who might be injured in a major disaster or a terrorist attack.

"It would be sheer chaos. I mean, they're the thing that kinda ties us all together," he says.

The Legislature has funded the two Twin Cities control centers for the next year, but their funding is uncertain after that. Erickson says in addition to communications, firefighters need better equipment and training to prepare for a post-Sept. 11 era.

"We're facing challenges now we never had before, he says. "They're talking about biological threats and radiological threats and all kinds of things that were just kind of brushed over in the past but now they're a very real threat."

	Public Safety Commissioner Charlie Weaver defends the pace of the anti-terrorism money distribution. He says the money wasn't available until July 1, and it should go out by the end of the year. (MPR Photo/Laura McCallum)

Firefighters and other first responders took their case to the Minnesota Legislature this year. Despite the call for urgency, lawmakers couldn't agree on an anti-terrorism bill until the final hours of the session.

The Senate version of the bill funded the metro control centers, but the money was removed in conference committee. The final bill did include $13 million for equipment and training. But none of that money has made its way to first responders yet, much to the frustration of many of them.

"To my knowledge, there has not been one penny spent on it yet. And here it's a year later. I guess in the fire service, we're used to a little more instant response time than that," says Tom Pressler, president of the Minnesota State Fire Department Association.

Public Safety Commissioner Charlie Weaver defends the pace of the anti-terrorism money distribution. He says the money wasn't available until July 1, and it should go out by the end of the year.

"And that's quick -- six months is really fast for an agency to turn around $13 million, and do it strategically," Weaver says. "I mean, we could just say, OK, we're going to go straight by population, every county gets X amount of dollars. But that's foolish, that's not a good way to deal with anti-terrorism."

	St. Paul fire captain Greg Erickson says without a solid dispatch system like that in the East Metro, responders wouldn't know where to take the hundreds or thousands of people who might be injured in a terrorist attack. (MPR Photo/Laura McCallum)

Weaver says his office is evaluating what communities already have, and will try to fill in the gaps.

"It may be that Willmar has already got a lot of what they need and they shouldn't get a bunch more money, but you know, Starbuck hasn't got anything and they need a little more than their normal fair share," says Weaver.

Not everyone is happy with Weaver's approach to doling out the money.

"We've seen how that works and it doesn't," says the Fire Department Association's Pressler. He maintains that the grant process means that all of the money doesn't actually get to the first responders who need it.

"Every level it goes through gets a filter - even the Department of Public Safety, where it's being handled now, is hiring two new people with funds. We feel that too much of it gets siphoned off on the way down," he says.

Pressler also serves as secretary of the Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education. The board asked Weaver for $5 million for anti-terrorism training for firefighters. Officials with the board say there are more firefighters than any other first responders in the state -- more than 18,000. And they say firefighters are usually first on the scene of a disaster.

Weaver sent the board a letter saying he doesn't want to carve out a portion of the training money for the fire service or any specific group.

"They just wanted to get a check, and dish it out as they saw fit, and that is completely inconsistent with legislative intent," says Weaver.

Weaver says it's important that firefighters, police and paramedics get similar training, so that everyone who arrives at the scene is on the same page. He says his office is responsible for making sure the money is spent wisely, and will follow up with site visits after the grants are given out.

While Weaver says the state is moving quickly to get the money to counties, he's frustrated with the stalemate at the federal level. He says anti-terrorism money has gotten mired in politics in Congress, and it's unlikely Minnesota will get any federal money until next year.

Session 2002: Public safety issues